Little Ones
by the ramblin rose
Summary: Janeway x Chakotay. They were a part of her, and he could never leave any part of her behind.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This will have at least one other part to it (and perhaps I'll do something more with it in the distant future after I finish writing Roots and Wings). I just wanted to do this because it's been on my mind for a long time. I know that Threshold is an episode of some debate, but it does open a world of possibilities. This is just one of them (that I'm sure has been written about 389 times, at least, but here's 390). It's just a little self-indulgent nonsense, but I hope you get some enjoyment out of it.**

**I don't own the show or anything related to it. **

**I hope that you enjoy! Please let me know what you think! **

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Chakotay hadn't imagined he'd be waist deep in swamp water that was so warm that it was beginning to steam when it made contact with the cool night air of the planet, but such was the life of a Starfleet officer.

The water smelled faintly stagnated and there was a certain sliminess to it thanks to the thick vegetation and floating plant life that he preferred to think of as moss rather than the scum that he was pretty sure it actually was.

He was telling himself that he would do this for absolutely any captain. He was telling himself that he was doing it simply because it was his duty.

He knew, in reality, that he would never do this for anyone except Kathryn Janeway.

Chakotay held his breath when he reached down around his ankles so that any of the water that came into contact with his face wouldn't accidentally slip into his mouth. He was pretty sure he'd vomit if he even accidentally ingested any of it.

The creature swimming around his ankles was newly born into the world and knew that it was afraid, but it didn't know what to do about its fear. Chakotay caught it by a slick tail and held tight. He didn't want to hurt it, but he absolutely didn't want to lose it once he had a grip on it.

Stunned and bound, both the larger amphibious creatures were already loaded into the shuttle. Tuvok was somewhat keeping watch over them and somewhat keeping watch over Chakotay to hold the light that—for all its disappearing and reappearing—Chakotay was really learning to do without.

Now all Chakotay had to do was catch the three small amphibious creatures and they could head back to Voyager. Without a net, and wanting desperately to avoid hurting any of the small creatures, he was left to call on the spirits of his ancestors for some guidance as to how he might round up and snag the little things.

He had this one.

"Tuvok! You better get me a bucket or—something," Chakotay called out. The little thing pulled against him under the water, but it was too fresh to the world to realize that it was well and truly caught. Once he surfaced it, however, there was a good chance that it would truly fight against him with everything its little body had to offer.

"A bucket, Commander?" Tuvok asked from the bank.

"A bucket, a box, a container of some sort, Tuvok," Chakotay said.

"Pardon me, Commander, but what do you intend to do with the offspring once you've—captured them—in said container?" Tuvok asked.

"I'm going to take them back to Voyager," Chakotay said. "What else do you think I would do with them?"

"With all due respect, Commander," Tuvok said, "it may be better to simply leave them here. We don't know much about them given that they're a life form that does not yet exist."

"They exist now," Chakotay said. "And the doctor thinks that he can reverse the changes to Tom and the Captain's DNA."

"We do not know if he'll be able to do anything to help their—offspring," Tuvok said.

"We don't know what he won't be able to do, either," Chakotay responded. Underneath the water, he dared to loosen his grip on the baby fighting against him just enough to find a foot. Wrapping his hand around it, he held the foot so that he had a more secure hold on the creature. Somewhere in the boggy, swampy mess, the creature's siblings were swimming around. Chakotay hoped they would be no more difficult to catch than this little one had been.

"If he is unable to restore them to current human DNA, then they will have a difficult time surviving on Voyager," Tuvok said. "They will require a specialized habitat."

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it, Tuvok," Chakotay pointed out. "Can you please find me a container of some sort?"

"Commander," Tuvok insisted, "if he is able to restore them to current human DNA, then there will be three newborns onboard Voyager. We do not know what Tom and the Captain will recall about this ordeal. It is highly possible that this will be a great surprise to them."

"Either way, this is going to be a great surprise to them," Chakotay said. He laughed to himself. There was nothing else to do. He had to laugh because there was a great deal about this situation that made him feel more like crying.

And now was not the time to deal with any of those feelings. There would be time for that later, on the ship.

"Commander," Tuvok started again, but Chakotay didn't let him finish.

"Tuvok, I'm ordering you to find me a container or some way to get these—these babies—back to Voyager!" Chakotay barked.

"Very well, Commander," Tuvok said. "I will see what's available on the shuttle."

"Thank you," Chakotay called after him as the Vulcan gave up trying to talk him out of his rescue mission and returned to their shuttle to search it for something useful and, more than likely, to make sure that the larger of their species were still resting peacefully.

Chakotay finally pulled the little creature up. As soon as it surfaced, it started to fight against him wildly. It didn't seem to understand how to fight him, though. It didn't try to bite him or claw him in any way—though he didn't believe it to have teeth or nails worth mentioning. Instead it simply thrashed wildly against him. He held it to his chest and, soon, it stopped fighting like it had reached a level of absolute exhaustion. It let out a series of clicking noises—probably the equivalent of a cry—but it gave up the battle.

When Tuvok returned, he'd found and emptied a supplies container. He brought it, uncovered but with its lid in his other hand, out to the bank of the swamp.

"I assume that the offspring will be willing to share their space," Tuvok said.

Chakotay laughed to himself. The Vulcan didn't joke—since joking wasn't exactly a Vulcan thing to do—but sometimes he certainly came dreadfully close to it.

"I'm assuming they shared a womb, so they can share a storage container. We'll put the cover partially over it so that they can't escape," Chakotay said. "Come get this one."

"Escape?" Tuvok asked, walking closer toward the water with the container. "I thought we might stun them just as we did the captain and Tom."

"The stun setting might be too strong for them," Chakotay said. "They are newborns. This one's tired. It's not going to try to escape for a while. They're probably—hungry." Chakotay held the amphibious thing out in Tuvok's direction. It was clear that Tuvok didn't relish the idea of holding the baby, but he came toward the edge of the water to accept it. "I've got another one swimming around my ankles," Chakotay said.

"Are you certain that's what's swimming around your ankles, Commander?" Tuvok asked. He accepted the exhausted baby and unceremoniously deposited it into the container. Chakotay grimaced at the thought of any number of creatures that might be swimming with him in the warm water.

"We might not know exactly what they are," Chakotay said, "but we know they're babies, so let's be as gentle with them as we can."

"I still think we should consider leaving them here," Tuvok said. "This is, after all, their natural habitat."

"This is simply the world they happened to be born on," Chakotay said. "Tom could have crashed them anywhere. They might have even been born on the shuttle. These babies are something outside of space and time at the moment. They don't belong here, and we don't know how they would affect the ecosystem of this planet if they were even capable of survival." Chakotay reached down, holding his breath for a moment out of the fear of accidentally ingesting any of the water, and felt around for the one that kept flicking his leg with either its foot or its tail. He caught it and realized it was a foot. He pulled it up, catching it with his other hand to support it before he surfaced it and dealt with its thrashing.

On the shore, Tuvok looked at least a little disgusted by the slick-skinned baby that was fighting Chakotay for its freedom and crying out in clicks for a mother that was bound and stunned in a shuttle some feet away.

"Are you sure that it wouldn't be best to stun them?" Tuvok asked.

"We know so little about them that we don't know if they could tolerate it," Chakotay said. "I'm sure that I don't want to kill them."

"They may escape in the shuttle," Tuvok pointed out.

"Then I'll catch them again," Chakotay offered. "Here—this one's tired."

"We don't know what they eat," Tuvok said as he took that one from Chakotay and deposited it a little more delicately in the box than he had the first.

"We'll try some plants," Chakotay said, "out of airponics. I doubt they know what they eat. The same as the captain and Tom in their current forms. We don't know what we're dealing with. At best, we can hope that the doctor is able to restore them quickly."

Chakotay waded a bit further in the murky waters and kicked his feet in the silty bottom to stir up anything that might be down there, as he hoped, he brought the third out of hiding. It barely made a run for it, and he caught it with very little problem. It was clear to him that the third had possibly been trying to nap. For any species, after all, being born was a pretty exhausting ordeal.

Chakotay hugged the third baby against his chest and carried it with him as he walked up the bank to come out of the water. He slipped the baby into the box with its siblings. All three of them looked up at him, but none of them scrambled for safety. One of them clicked at him, the tone of its clicks different than they had been when it had been fighting him in the water.

"They have calmed down," Tuvok pointed out.

"They're exhausted," Chakotay said.

"It's possible that they have found some comfort in your company, Commander."

"Maybe they just realize that I'm not trying to hurt them," Chakotay said. He reached down and tested the weight of the box. With the three babies in it, it was heavy, but it wasn't impossible for him to lift on his own. He picked the box up and started toward the shuttle. "Grab the lid, Tuvok. We don't want to wait too long to get everyone back to the ship. It's a good thing the doctor doesn't need to sleep. He's got his work cut out for him."

"He certainly has," Tuvok said, following behind him.

He'd finally given up fighting Chakotay about taking the babies back to the ship.

Chakotay didn't know if taking them back was the best thing for the babies. He didn't know if taking them back was the best thing for anyone. He wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he couldn't help thinking about Kathryn. He couldn't imagine telling her that she was a mother—three times over even—and he'd simply left her offspring behind.

He didn't know what would happen, or even what their EMH was capable of, but he thought they had to at least try.

He had to at least be able to tell her that he tried.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: OK, so I may have lied. There may need to be at least three parts, depending on what you think when you get to the end. **

**Thank you so much for your kind comments on the first part. I'm glad to think that some of you might be excited by this concept!**

**Please excuse my complete failure at the science part of Trek. I try, but it's admittedly not my forte. I ask for and appreciate suspension of disbelief for the sake of the story.**

**I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"Their DNA was broken down," the doctor explained, "and, essentially, dispersed before it was brought back together. It was all a result of reaching Warp 10 and being split into molecules so that they could be in every part of the universe at once. When it came back together, it created a sort of metamorphosis that brought about their rapid changes into something a great deal more evolved, which is the form that we see currently. They are still human, but they're greatly evolved humans and, therefore, their physical appearance is different from our own."

Chakotay listened as the EMH yammered on about what he had figured out about what had happened to the captain and to Tom. He'd been there listening so long that he very nearly felt that he could sleep on his feet. But he stayed where he was because everyone else had gone to take care of other things on the ship and the doctor seemed to need someone to talk through his ideas with as he worked on the solution to the problem.

Kes, for her part, was simply making sure that Tom and the captain, in their current forms, were remaining unconscious and stable while they waited on the doctor's treatment.

"Can you put their DNA back together, Doctor?" Chakotay asked. "Return it to normal? Like it was?"

"Absolutely," the doctor said. There was a great deal of enthusiasm in his voice—more than Chakotay was used to hearing from the hologram. He was clearly excited that he had used his adaptive program to find a solution to a problem that his creators could have never imagined he would have to deal with. "It's a slow process, and there's a lot of DNA to convert. It'll take at least half a day. Maybe longer."

"It doesn't matter how long it takes as long as it works," Chakotay said. "What about the—the offspring?"

The EMH smiled. He was clearly pleased with whatever news he had to share with Chakotay. 

"I was worried that their DNA wouldn't be alterable given the fact that they were born from parents whose DNA was in a state of metamorphosis at the time of their conception," the doctor said.

"But I'm hoping that you found something different?" Chakotay asked. "Or should we start converting one of the cargo bays into an environment where they can live?"

"Nothing of the sort, Commander," the doctor said. "I ran tests on their DNA. Surprisingly, there's no difference between the changes in their DNA and the changes in the captain's DNA and Lieutenant Paris's DNA. It's as if they were changed through the same process as their—well, as their parents. Just as if they started life in our current form. It doesn't seem like the fact that they were created from the merging of altered DNA affected them at all."

Chakotay's stomach clenched.

The babies reminded him of lizards at the moment, but they could be turned into actual babies—their DNA reverted back to a not-so advanced stage. It was wonderful news. He could only imagine that Kathryn—when the shock wore off—would be thrilled. She'd wanted children, after all. She'd discussed it with him before in no uncertain terms.

They'd talked about it at some length. They'd discussed the logistics of it. They'd discussed whether or not a captain could have it all, especially if she didn't have hope of getting a break from her command for somewhere around 75 years.

Chakotay had just started to convince her that she could have it all. He'd just started to convince her that the crew would accept that she wanted a life, even as their captain, and they would support her in finding happiness, even if it meant bending protocol.

Of course, at the point when he'd convinced her of all that, they were already bending protocol.

He'd been in love with her since almost the first time he laid eyes on her, but it was only recently that she'd admitted her feelings for him. It was only recently that she'd taken him as her lover—in secret and only behind very tightly closed doors.

It was only recently that she'd begun to talk of marriage and motherhood, and it had started to seem like those were things they might be moving toward slowly.

But then she'd been moved toward at least one of those things at the speed of Warp 10.

Kathryn was going to be a mother—or was already a mother, technically—and Tom Paris was the father of her children.

The thought made Chakotay's stomach clench and his chest ache, but he would learn to deal with it. He would learn to accept it. He would talk to her and they would all figure out how to make it work. He loved Kathryn, after all. And she loved him. Tom had feelings for B'Elanna. His relationship with Kathryn—if this could even be called any sort of relationship—was something born of circumstance and it existed entirely outside of their current relationship situation. The babies would still be his, biologically, but Kathryn's love would still be Chakotay's. They could work out the logistics of everything together.

Of course, it would mean that, sooner or later, Kathryn was going to have to admit to the crew that she was in a relationship with Chakotay and, for that reason, he was helping to care for the lizard-turned-human offspring that she'd accidentally conceived with Tom Paris in a previous amphibious form.

Luckily they were Starfleet, and they were used to unusual circumstances. Beyond that, Chakotay thought that the crew would be happy for Kathryn. They loved her. They would want her happiness.

"How quickly can you change them?" Chakotay asked.

"Because they require fewer molecular changes given their overall size," the doctor said, "it will take less time to change them. However, I won't begin to change them until I'm nearing the end of the process with the captain and Lieutenant Paris. We'll do our best to bring them all back to our current form at approximately the same time."

Chakotay clapped the hologram on the shoulder.

"Good work, Doctor," he said. "Get started. And call me as soon as there's any progress. I'm going to get a little rest."

On his way out of sickbay, Chakotay took the long way around. In one area, the doctor was keeping Tom and Kathryn sedated in their current forms. On the other side of sickbay, to keep a little distance between them, he had the three babies in the storage container that they'd been in when Chakotay had brought them onboard the ship. Chakotay stopped by to see them.

The three of them were asleep—silent and still—and he reached in a hand to brush it over the soft skin of one of them.

They weren't slimy when they weren't coated in the disgusting muck from the swamp water. And he wasn't sorry, at all, that he'd brought them onto the ship. Having them there wasn't going to be easy for him—a reminder that Kathryn, whether she'd intended to or not, had mated with Tom Paris and had given birth to his children—but they would make her happy. At least, they would make her happy when the shock of sudden motherhood wore off.

Chakotay could deal with his own discomfort to make her happy.

"You guys get some sleep. You think being born was a big surprise, just wait for what the doctor's got in store for you," Chakotay said to the sleeping creatures. "Don't worry, though. It'll be over before you know it and you'll get to meet your mother again—though...she might look a little different. I don't know if your memories transfer over. I'll be there, though, and maybe you'll remember me."

Chakotay almost bumped into Kes when he straightened up and turned around. She smiled at him when he jumped with surprise.

"Commander," she said. "I didn't mean to scare you. I just came to see if our smallest patients were still in their box."

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"No great escapes have been made," he said. "They're sleeping now, but they couldn't get out on the shuttle when they tried."

"Maybe it won't be long before they're in normal beds," Kes said. "We'll have to replicate some cribs for them."

"We will," Chakotay agreed. "I'm going to get some sleep, but I want to be updated the moment that we have any progress."

"We'll be sure to call you," Kes told him. "Sleep well, Commander."

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Chakotay was still half asleep when he made it to sickbay, but he was wearing his uniform and he'd at least splashed his face with cold water. The DNA reversal process had taken less time than anticipated and he'd been practically dead to the world when he'd gotten the call that he might want to come down there.

Now that he was met by the doctor, he was starting to worry that there might be something wrong. The EMH wasn't wearing the beaming smile that he'd been wearing earlier.

The doctor's expression was more sobering than the cold water had been.

"Did something go wrong with the process?" Chakotay asked.

"Not exactly," the doctor said.

"Is something wrong with the Captain?" Chakotay asked.

"The captain is fine," the doctor said. She and Lieutenant Paris are both still undergoing treatment. It'll take at least another hour for them."

Chakotay's stomach clenched.

It had to be the babies. Maybe they'd made a mistake bringing them back to the ship. Or, maybe they hadn't made a mistake in bringing them back, but they'd made a mistake in trying to reverse their DNA. Maybe it would have been better to simply have left them in their original forms.

Chakotay got the gut feeling that something had happened to them, and he hadn't expected to be so affected by three amphibious little creatures.

But they were part of Kathryn.

"The little ones?" Chakotay asked, forcing himself not to wince against the possibility that he was about to hear something that he simply wasn't able to handle at this hour.

"There's something a little—unexpected," the doctor said. "I thought you might want to come down here and see them first."

"It wasn't successful?" Chakotay asked.

"It was successful, but they don't look at all like we expected," the doctor said. "At least—they don't look like neither Kes nor I expected they would."

Chakotay did wince then.

"What's wrong?" He asked. "Do they have tails? Gills?"

"No," the doctor said. "Not anything like that. They were restored entirely to our current DNA sequence. They appear human in every way. They are human in every way."

"What's wrong, then, Doctor?" Chakotay asked.

The doctor sighed.

"Well, maybe you should just come and see for yourself, Commander," the doctor said. There was a hint of something like defeat in his tone. He gestured toward the back part of sickbay and Chakotay walked with him. When they got there, Kes was standing there somewhat keeping watch. In his absence, they'd brought in three small medical baby bassinets that were reading vital signs and reporting information on each of their tiny occupants.

In each of the bassinets was an infant—a very small infant. Each one weighed probably no more than four pounds and Chakotay was almost certain he could hold any of them in the palm of his hand. They were barely visible as more than tiny heads wrapped in blankets that were the standard teal of the regulation issue medical supplies. Each tiny baby appeared to be breathing on their own, all of them were sleeping, and the beds didn't alarm anyone to any unexpected changes in their vital signs.

They appeared to be perfectly healthy babies. They were perfectly healthy, and recognizably human, babies.

And it only took a second for Chakotay to realize what it was that had alarmed the doctor.

Chakotay stepped closer to the bassinets.

It was hard to imagine that these babies, tiny and perfect and very human, were the same ones that he'd rescued out of the swamp less than a day before. It was hard to imagine that he'd petted them while they slept in a storage container and, now, they were sleeping in bassinets.

One of them shifted in its sleep. It pushed against the bindings of the blanket it was tightly swaddled in, opened its mouth to yawn, and then drifted back into sleep.

From what Chakotay could see, they didn't have tails or gills or any sort of lingering amphibious characteristics.

Sleeping, he couldn't see what their eye color might be. He couldn't say exactly what they would look like under careful examination. They were so young and small and fresh to the world that he could really see no physical characteristics as they would be when they were older. It was impossible to tell whose nose they might have, who they might smile like, and who they would look like if they held their mouth just so.

What he could see, though, and what he was sure was bothering the doctor and causing Kes to wear such a concerned expression, was that the children were neither red-headed like their mother nor blonde like Tom Paris.

Each of the babies had a somewhat olive complexion. And the hair that each of them could brag to have was every bit as dark as Chakotay's had ever been.

Shock couldn't even begin to cover the feeling that came over Chakotay at the moment.

He couldn't even think well enough to speak or explain. He could barely even begin to understand what he was seeing. Still, his brain told him that he should speak. It told him that he should do something.

He said the only thing that came to mind.

"If it's going to be an hour or more before the Captain's restored—they're going to need something to eat. We should replicate some formula."

And, as though it were the most natural response to anything that had taken place that most-bizarre night, Kes simply accepted his words and went to do just that while the EMH stood silently and watched her go.

But Chakotay knew they weren't done discussing the little ones.

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**AN: So what do you think? Do we need something more here? I don't want to something that nobody is interested in reading, so let me know your opinions.**

**I'll also let you know that the author elem/elem44 did a story called "Threshold Revisited" (on A03) that's a great deal different than this story (a great deal), but it does share some common ideas. You might want to check it out if you're interested in that sort of thing. **

**In the meantime, let me know what you think about this one! Thanks for reading! **


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Here we are, another bit here that needed to be told.**

**I can't thank you all enough for your reaction to this little story. I'm glad to know that others were craving the kind of fix that I wanted to see. **

**There's an important AN at the end, so please read that when you get there! I hope you enjoy! **

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Chakotay's hands were trembling the first time he reached out to touch one of the babies. He told himself it was because they were so delicate. He'd wanted to treat them delicately when they appeared to be overgrown lizards. He especially wanted to treat them delicately now that they were perfect, though tiny, humans.

Being born was hard work, apparently. Trying to escape capture in an amphibious lifeform was tiring. Spending half a day in a storage container with your siblings stepping on your face could wear someone out. Having your DNA reverted back to that of a modern day human was almost more than one could bear.

And the babies, having experience so much in lives that were so short, slept soundly.

"Are you sure they're alright?" Chakotay asked, barely daring to rest his hand over one of the wrapped bodies.

"They're perfectly healthy, Commander," the doctor said. "I doubt that they could have been born aboard Voyager any healthier than they are at this moment."

"Shouldn't they—want to eat?" Chakotay asked.

"We don't know how they fed in their previous form," the doctor said. "It's entirely possible that they ate before you found them and, given some possible changes in their metabolism, it's likely that whatever they ate has sustained them thus far."

"I've set the controls," Kes said. "We'll be able to replicate formula whenever they may want it." She had dragged a chair near the bassinets, and she waved toward it. "Are you alright, Commander? I thought you might want to sit."

Chakotay wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but sitting seemed as reasonable as anything else at the moment. He practically stumbled to the chair and sat down.

"What exactly—happened?" Chakotay asked.

"Well—a great deal of that explanation depends upon how much you'd like to share," the doctor said. "I can assure you confidentiality."

Chakotay sighed.

"Let's just proceed with whatever your theory is," Chakotay said, "and let's say that I don't want to share anything until the captain has been restored."

"Very well," the doctor said. "I hope you don't find it too presumptuous, but I took liberty of running some cross-DNA comparisons with your DNA and that of the offspring. Would you care to venture a guess at what I found, or would you prefer that I told you?"

"Let's just say it's better if you tell me what you've found, Doctor," Chakotay said.

"The DNA of the offspring makes them not the offspring of Lieutenant Paris and Captain Janeway, but rather—the offspring of you and Captain Janeway," the doctor said.

"How did this happen?" Chakotay asked.

"The explanation necessary from this point forward depends a great deal on how much you may have already suspected something along these lines," the doctor said.

Chakotay didn't want to betray Kathryn's trust or leave her privacy to be invaded in any way, but he knew that they were had to some degree. He considered carefully what he wanted to say—and his audience was patient with him, both of them standing there waiting for some explanation, except for the one moment when Kes left long enough to be sure that everything was proceeding as it should with the DNA restoration of Kathryn and Tom.

Chakotay gained a little more time to think when one of the babies woke from its slumber to demand something, and Kes went to replicate it a bottle while the doctor offered the child over to Chakotay.

"Commander Chakotay—whether or not you know how this came to be," the doctor said, offering over the tiny bundle. "Meet your son."

Kes put the bottle in Chakotay's free hand before he could even wrap his mind around the fact that the squalling bundle in his arms was, as the doctor had announced, his son.

"Commander," Kes said softly, "you may want to feed him. Before he wakes the other two babies."

In response to her delicate suggestion, and realizing entirely that he was moving somewhat outside of himself, Chakotay urged the small baby to take the nipple of the bottle that had been placed in his hand. The baby did, but he retained some of the anger that had wrinkled up his tiny features while he'd been tortured with the excruciatingly long wait for his request. He held the nipple in his mouth, clearly unsure of what to do with it, and Chakotay felt a stab of concern in his chest over the fact that, perhaps, the babies didn't know how to feed in their new form.

But after a moment, the baby seemed to accept that this was the way things were, and the rubber nipple would provide him with something he wanted, so he began to suck.

Chakotay would have never imagined he'd be so amazed by something sucking on a bottle, but he could barely stand the thought of looking away.

"Patient-Doctor confidentiality extends to me?" Chakotay asked.

"I'm an EMH, Commander, not a gossip," the doctor responded.

"I may have some idea how it's possible that the babies are mine," Chakotay said.

"Somehow, I thought you might," the doctor said.

Chakotay frowned at him, but the EMH seemed unmoved by his disapproval.

"The best explanation that I can come up with is that the captain must have been in gestation prior to the change," the doctor said. "When her molecules were split, so were the molecules of the offspring."

"Are you suggesting that she was expecting—a—a litter—before she was turned into an advanced human?" Chakotay asked.

Kes stifled a giggle. She was quick to cover it up and to busy herself with studying the vitals of the other two babies.

"The infants are triplets only in that they were born at the same time," the doctor said. "Just like a litter, as you say. There are two identical twin girls that, more than likely, were the result of a split during the DNA change."

"And the boy," Chakotay said.

"Evidently there was no second split," the doctor said. "Or—it's possible that something happened to the fourth offspring."

Chakotay felt his gut twist at such a suggestion. It was strange to say that he felt a stab of mourning over a fourth child that he'd never seen and wasn't sure existed, but there was some emotion there. Had he left it on the planet? Had something happened that had kept it from never making it to the protective nest that Kathryn—in her amphibious form—had clearly built for her young?

There would be time to worry about it later, and Chakotay knew that.

"So you're saying that—before Tom took her on the shuttle, she was..."

"Pregnant," the doctor said, finishing when Chakotay seemed unable to find the words. "More specifically, there would have had to have been both a male and a female present."

"Twins," Chakotay said.

"Which are, now, triplets," Kes offered. "It does make you wonder about the fourth. Whether or not there was one. What happened to it?"

"It's really not relevant," the doctor said. "We don't know if there was a fourth or what may have happened to it if there was, but we do know there are three."

"And someone is going to have to tell the captain," Kes said. "It's probably going to be something of a surprise coming from anyone, but we thought it might be easier coming from you."

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"Waking up to find out she has three children," Chakotay mused. "That's going to be a shock. But—I'll tell her. I think, though, that it's better if we move her away from Tom. This might be the kind of thing that—she'd like the chance to find out in private. She'll have to make an announcement to the ship, but I think..."

"Certainly," Kes said, keeping him from having to finish. "We'll put some distance between them and close a curtain, at least, to provide whatever privacy we can for—for you and the captain. In the meantime—congratulations, Commander."

Chakotay's stomach twisted at the word—a word that was so entirely unexpected and yet strangely wonderful.

He glanced at the baby in his arms—a tiny head that seemed attached to a bulging bundle of blanket with an angry expression and a mouthful of rubber nipple that seemed humorously large against his tiny frame.

This was his son and, some feet away, his daughters were sleeping in their bassinets.

Now he had only to wait for their mother to be restored to him—and he had only that long to figure out how he was going to tell her that she was a mother three times over.

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Chakotay kept some distance while the doctor examined Kathryn. When he was thoroughly satisfied that she was completely back to normal, he'd given her the command to rest and he'd come directly to the part of sickbay where Kes and Chakotay were making sure that their youngest occupants were well cared for and quiet.

At the moment, one of the girls was just beginning to wake, but the other two babies were asleep. It wouldn't be long and the whining baby would announce their presence for them.

The doctor left Chakotay to talk to Kathryn, assuring him that she was in perfect health except for the fact that she needed to rest for a few days to get her strength up. The transformation itself had been demanding on her body, and the restoration had been difficult as well, but it was also worth noting that she'd gone through a rapid reproduction cycle, what would have been a demanding pregnancy, and had delivered into the world three offspring in a short span of time. She needed a few days of R and R to be back to her old self. Once the doctor assured Chakotay that, with time and rest, Kathryn would be back to her old self, he left him and went to check on Tom's transformation.

Chakotay had thought of about a hundred ways that he might tell Kathryn about the babies, but there was no way to tell her that was going to remove the shock entirely. He had decided the most direct approach was probably the best. He left the babies in the care of Kes, and he went to where Kathryn was resting.

She smiled when she saw him. Their affair was secret for the time being. They hadn't told the crew. The smile and a touch that could be excused as simply lovingly familial was the most she would allow herself in public. She reached a hand out toward him and he took her hand as he approached her.

She was still beautiful. The doctor assured him that she'd been entirely restored and, as far as Chakotay could see, he was correct.

Chakotay raised her hand and quickly kissed her fingers.

She made a face at him and tugged at her hand, but he held it tight.

"Someone might see," Kathryn said.

Chakotay smiled to himself.

"Somehow—I don't think they'd mind," he said. "But we're not being watched. How do you feel?"

"I don't remember much," Kathryn said. "I remember—Tom being there. He hit me. I don't remember anything else."

"You were taken to Warp 10," Chakotay said. "Your molecules were scattered, your DNA was rewritten or something of the sort, and you were turned into an advanced lifeform that appeared to be more amphibian than mammal. We brought you back here, and you were restored to your current state. So—how do you feel?"

Kathryn laughed to herself.

"All things considered," she said, "I guess I feel wonderful. My head hurts. My body aches. Everything's sore. I'm tired and...my breasts are really sore."

Chakotay swallowed back his laughter. He nodded his head and furrowed his brow to do his best to look concerned, but he also worked her hand in his.

"Did you tell the doctor?" Chakotay asked.

Kathryn laughed to herself.

"I did, but he said that was to be expected and he just...walked away," Kathryn said.

"I may have left out part of what happened while you were down on the planet's surface," Chakotay said. Kathryn opened her mouth in question, but she let out barely more than a hum to ask him to continue. "It seems that—when you went to Warp 10—everything in your body divided before it came back together."

"That's what the doctor said," Kathryn said.

"I've been searching for the right way to tell you this, but I'm no longer certain that there is a right way," Chakotay said, "so I'm just going to come out and tell you. When we reached the planet's surface, Kathryn, we found you and Tom. But you weren't alone. We also found a nest."

"A nest?" Kathryn asked.

"In it, there were three—offspring," Chakotay said. "Naturally, we assumed that you and Tom—being the only two of your kind—had mated. We gathered up the offspring and we brought them back here."

"You have them here?" Kathryn asked. Chakotay couldn't hold her confusion against her. He nodded his head.

"We were able to restore them," he said.

"Restore them to—humans?" Kathryn asked.

"To non-advanced humans," Chakotay said. "Just like us."

"Tom and I had—babies?" Kathryn asked.

"Well—that's where the surprise comes in," Chakotay said.

"I don't think I can handle any more surprises, Chakotay," Kathryn said.

She looked tired, and he almost believed her.

"There's maybe just—one more," Chakotay said. "Kes?"

He called out to Kes to come and it wasn't long before she came rolling a bassinet with each hand. She was all smiles about the situation, and her smile was at least contagious, even though Kathryn's features still wore confusion ad concern despite the smile she caught from Kes. She did her best to sit up, though Chakotay could see it was difficult for her, so he moved to adjust the settings on the biobed to assist her.

"I doubled up the girls," Kes said. "Just so they're easier to move. You look wonderful, Captain. This little one is starting to get hungry. Did you want—well, you can try to feed her to see if you're already able, but I brought a bottle just in case."

Kathryn stared at Kes. She wore the smile, now, because it was likely frozen to her features. The furrow between her brows might be permanent, as well. Chakotay wasn't entirely sure that she wasn't going to burst into tears.

"Thank you, Kes," he said as a way of excusing Kes. She smiled at him, looked at Kathryn, and then her smile dropped. She quickly renewed it.

"Of course, Commander," she said. "I'll just—be around if you need me."

Chakotay thanked her again before he picked up the baby who was beginning to fuss. He passed her gently to Kathryn and Kathryn stared at her, mouth slightly open, once she was rested in the crook of her arm.

"Kathryn—meet your daughter," Chakotay said. "One of them. There's another girl."

"Chakotay..." Kathryn stammered. "I thought you said that Tom and I..."

"Mated as advanced species?" Chakotay asked. Kathryn nodded. "That's what we thought. Until they were restored. Then the doctor ran some cross DNA tests."

"Our daughter?" Kathryn asked.

"Our daughters," Chakotay corrected. "And our son, it would seem."

"How?" Kathryn asked.

"It would appear that—you had two of them with you when you went to Warp 10," Chakotay said. "They split. Just like you did. And when they came back together..."

"This is really real?" Kathryn asked. She examined the baby in her arms like she was afraid to touch her. The baby, for her part, was about to demonstrate to her mother how real she actually was. She had been awake a short time, but she was hungry—and she wasn't interested in waiting any longer. Her whines turned into something like a sneezing cry and Chakotay put his hands over her as Kathryn held her.

"It's real," he said. "I think she's hungry. Do you want to—try to feed her? You may be—producing milk or...we replicated formula."

"I can feed her?" Kathryn said.

It absolutely came out as a question, and Chakotay had to admit that he didn't really know what he was doing. He understood the concept of breastfeeding, of course, but he'd had admittedly no practice with the mechanics of it. It would be something they could probably explore at greater length when the baby wasn't so ready to erupt into squalling and her mother wasn't so overcome with exhaustion and confusion. Chakotay reached for the bottle that Kes had tucked into the bassinet and handed it to Kathryn. She looked at him with some question, but she took it. He directed her to introduce it to the baby and the little one accepted it much more readily and greedily than her brother had.

"The rest will come later," Chakotay assured Kathryn, even though she hadn't asked him.

Kathryn looked back at the baby and smiled.

"She's beautiful," Kathryn said.

Chakotay smiled to himself.

"She is, isn't she?" Chakotay agreed.

Kathryn looked back at him.

"She looks just like you," Kathryn said. She glanced over at the bassinets. "They all do."

"I'm sure they'll look more like you as they grow into themselves," Chakotay said.

"We're going to have to make an announcement to the ship," Kathryn said. "We're—going to have to tell them everything. If we don't, they'll figure it out."

Chakotay laughed.

"I'm sure they will," Chakotay said.

Kathryn shook her head.

"This is absolutely a breach of protocol," she said.

"I think they'll let it slide, just this once," Chakotay teased.

"Chakotay—how am I going to be a captain and a mother of—of three babies?"

"Don't worry," Chakotay assured her. "You're already a natural. You'll figure it out. And you'll be as great a mother as you are a captain. Besides—you'll have help. I promise you that."

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**AN: So I'll make the announcement to anyone who wants a short fic that you can consider the fic done here.**

**For those of you who have shown some interest in it, though, I would like to continue to add parts to show what life is like with the triplets onboard Voyager. I'll be adding pieces here and to "Roots and Wings" as I go, so don't worry if you're reading that one, I'm not abandoning it. **

**I appreciate your support more than you know and I love all your comments. Thank you for sharing this with me! I hope you enjoyed this and, if you're coming along for the ride, I hope you enjoy what's to come! Please let me know what you think! **

**(Also, if you have any name suggestions, I would greatly appreciate them. I'm terrible at names and now we've got triplets!)**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Here we are, another little piece here. I couldn't stay away. Admittedly this is a bit of a transition chapter because, if I'm going to keep adding pieces to this, I had to get the news out and start setting things up to make the little ones common knowledge on the ship.**

**I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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Kathryn was a woman who, once she made a decision, dived into whatever she was doing with both feet. As soon as she accepted that the crew was going to have to be made aware of their situation—something she came to terms with before the baby in her arms had drained even half the milk out of the bottle that it was recommended that she consume—Kathryn tapped her combadge. She stared at Chakotay, communicating with him only with her eyes that she might need his support, and he tapped his badge as well.

"Communications," Kathryn said, "we need an open comm-line with the entire ship. Both Commander Chakotay and I will need access."

Immediately the requested line was open. They hadn't discussed what they were going to say previously, and it appeared that they weren't going to discuss it. Chakotay let Kathryn speak, and he decided that he would only step in when his input was needed or desired.

"Voyager crew—this is your captain speaking," Kathryn said. She stalled a moment, clearly collecting herself. Chakotay wanted to tell her that there was no rush to make any sort of announcement, but he wasn't going to do that over an open line, and it appeared that she felt there was a rush. All he could do now was support her. "I suppose—by now—you've heard of some of the events that have taken place. It is true that Lieutenant Tom Paris broke the Warp 10 barrier. It's also true that—in the process of this—he managed to alter his DNA and mine as well. We have been restored and, following a short period of rest, we'll both be entirely back to normal. That is not what I wanted to announce to you all today, though we're happy to discuss the events with everyone when we return to duty. I'm speaking to you today as your captain, but also as a fellow human being."

The baby in her arms started to whine and she bounced her gently with her arm and shushed her. The sound went out over the comm line, no doubt raising some curiosity among the crew. If she'd thought about trying to hide their little ones for a while, the cat was out of the bag.

She wasn't trying to hide, though.

"I haven't been entirely honest with you for—the past few months," Kathryn said. "I thought that you would find Starfleet protocol more important than—well—than anything else. I thought that you would deny me any position except that as your captain. I hope that I was wrong, and—if I am—I am sorry for misjudging you that way. I want to be honest and open with you now. For the past few months, I have been in a secret relationship with one of my subordinates. Which, I'm sure you all know isn't difficult given that I'm the captain. I'm sorry for keeping the relationship a secret. Commander Chakotay and I would like to bring this relationship out of hiding. As with the Warp 10 factor, I will be happy to answer any questions you have and speak to you about this when we return to duty. I wish—that was all that I had to tell you. I'm certain that's a lot of information for you to take in all at once. But I ask your attention just a bit longer. It would appear that—there were some fruits of the relationship between the commander and me that I was unaware of when Lieutenant Paris took me to Warp 10. As a result of the—transformation—some processes in my body..."

Kathryn stopped. She looked at Chakotay and her expression tugged at something in his chest. Without a word, she asked him for help.

And one of their little ones offered some help from the bassinet, suddenly breaking into a loud and deeply unsatisfied cry over some need that had gone unmet for seconds—and clearly far too long in the infant's opinion. Chakotay went for the baby and spoke into his open line.

"This is Commander Chakotay," Chakotay said. "Everything the captain has said is true and we're sorry for having kept this a secret. We hope that you'll join us in celebrating our relationship now that it's out in the open. In addition—and thanks somewhat to the Warp 10 process—we have been surprised with...well...three beautiful, brand new babies. We look forward to introducing them to the entire crew. We want to—to invite you to a special gathering to meet the babies and to—to celebrate with us. The details for that will be pending, but everyone's invited. In the meantime, we're asking for a little privacy as the captain recovers from her ordeal and we spend a few days of R and R adjusting to our new circumstances as parents. We hope that you'll all understand, and we're excited to share this—this..."

"We're excited to share this chapter of our lives with you," Kathryn supplied. "You are all our family, and we can't wait to introduce you to the newest members of—of our family. Janeway out."

"Chakotay out," Chakotay said quickly.

The comm line was closed, then, and they were left alone—at least they were left somewhat alone. From somewhere in sickbay, there was cheering from Tom and a round of applause. Someone else echoed the applause, so Chakotay could only assume that the doctor and Kes had joined in to amuse Tom.

The baby that Chakotay had rescued from the bassinet was not done crying, however, because Chakotay hadn't begun to try to figure out what was wrong with it and to solve its problem—he didn't even know which baby he was holding. The one that Kathryn was feeding started to cry, perhaps, because she no longer wanted to feed and, suddenly, the third of their offspring decided to cry, more than likely, because it was being excluded.

Kathryn looked at Chakotay with an expression that he could only describe as exhausted panic.

"Chakotay—there are three babies here," she said, the realization sinking over her in a way that it hadn't before.

She expected him to fix whatever was wrong in the world at that moment and he'd never felt more deeply the need to do just that. He passed her the baby he was holding and rescued the third from the bassinet. He tried to pass it to her as well.

"Just—hold them," he said. "I'll get the doctor and see what we can do about—about getting settled and, we'll figure everything out."

Kathryn stared at him.

Three babies were crying. She held one in the crook of each of her arms and Chakotay was trying to figure out how to give her the third wailing bundle—and she did the only thing that she apparently thought she could do.

When Chakotay saw the dragon tears rolling down her cheeks, he reminded himself that she had gone through gestation and given birth to their children in a very rapid amount of time, but that didn't mean that her body hadn't gone through the whole process in its own way. She was, more than likely, drowning in her own hormones and this had been a shock to them both.

"I don't even have enough hands to hold my babies," she lamented suddenly.

The lamentation was not meant to be a joke. It was clear that she was in no joking mood. However, it struck Chakotay just enough to snap him out of whatever fog he had gotten wrapped up in and to help him toward action.

He rested the third baby against her chest, helped her rearrange the other the two, and brought her arms around so that she was hugging all three. She looked a little rigid and unsure of herself, but she was holding all three babies at once—and two of them seemed to have given up crying at the moment, maybe just because they were comfortable next to their siblings and held tight against their mother's body.

Chakotay kept his hands over hers for a moment and spoke to her as calmly as he could. He reminded himself that, in addition to the veritable flood of hormones, she hadn't had nearly as long to come to terms with everything as he had—and even he was feeling overwhelmed.

He had to take care of Kathryn.

Because, when she got herself together, she would take care of the babies and, more than likely, would take care of anything he found himself having to deal with as he navigated the waters of being a new father.

But right now, she needed him to be the one that handled things.

"You have all three babies," Chakotay said. "And they're fine. Even if they're crying, it's only because they're a little annoyed with something. There's nothing really wrong with them. Now—I'm going to talk to the doctor about moving you to your quarters because I think you're going to rest better there and I think they're all going to do better in a quiet, comfortable space."

Kathryn nodded at him. He could see her features relaxing. She was already getting from him what she needed. She was drawing whatever strength from him that he could pass to her. The babies, too, seemed to be calming.

"Chakotay," Kathryn said as he started to move away to speak to the doctor. He stopped.

"What is it?" He asked.

"We don't have anything," Kathryn said. "They don't have clothes or beds or...anything."

Chakotay hadn't thought about it before, but she was right. They hadn't prepared for this like parents who knew their children were coming might have prepared. They hadn't had months to plan for their arrivals. They were here and they had nothing.

He nodded his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Don't. I've got replicator rations and...we'll get the most important things first."

"I've got rations to contribute," Tom said from his bed. "Not to invade your privacy or anything."

"I have rations as well," Kes offered from somewhere beyond their clearly failing privacy curtain, "and I know Neelix has some extras."

"See?" Chakotay said, laughing to himself. "We'll get them everything they need. I'll get some help and we'll—they'll have everything they need."

Kathryn calmed even more at his reassurance that her offspring, hugged against her body somewhat awkwardly because she had yet to figure out how to hold all three of them comfortably, would have what they needed to survive.

"Doctor," Chakotay called out, "as long as everyone's listening—is it possible for the captain to rest and recover in her quarters with the little ones?"

The doctor appeared immediately. He had, no doubt, overheard everything just like Tom and Kes. The curtains and the distance in sickbay gave the illusion of privacy, but there was really no privacy in such a small and open space.

"I think the captain could recover fine in her quarters," the doctor said. "I could check on her and the babies there. They're stable and healthy, and so is the captain, so I can't see any problem with this."

"Excellent," Chakotay said. "Kes? If you could help us move the babies, we'll be needing the bassinets until I can get some cribs assembled. I can carry the captain."

"I can walk," Kathryn insisted.

"It might be better if you stayed off your feet for just a little longer, Captain," Kes said, appearing from behind the curtain as though she were performing some sort of magic trick. "I'll roll the babies to your quarters. Commander Chakotay can help you get there. I've done some research while we were waiting for the DNA restoration, so we can talk about schedules and feeding when you're settled—if you like."

Kes was already collecting the babies and transferring them to the bassinets. Chakotay couldn't help but notice that Kathryn already looked reluctant to let her have them, and her hands trailed after the last one as though she might lunge forward and try to retrieve it from the Ocampa's grasp. Kes delicately rested the babies in the two bassinets, though, and Kathryn didn't say anything to her.

"I'll take them to your quarters now," Kes said. "Then I'll come back for the third bassinet while you're getting settled. Commander—do you have the captain?"

Chakotay walked over to the biobed and lifted Kathryn. She was as light as a feather to him, and she was especially easy to carry when she wrapped her arms around him and leaned into him, helping him to make the process go smoother. She reached down only long enough to make sure that she was covered by the sickbay gown.

Kes left ahead of them and Chakotay followed behind her at a slower pace. Kathryn didn't say anything to anyone except for to quickly thank the doctor who would later be paying her a visit in her quarters. She simply rested her head against Chakotay as he carried her.

It wasn't until they were in the hallway that she spoke to him, her voice low enough that nobody else could have heard her.

"Chakotay," she asked softly. He hummed at her to let her know that he wished for her to say whatever was on her mind. "I know we haven't talked about this before but—will you stay with me? At least for tonight?"

Chakotay swallowed. He realized the immense amount of strength it had to take for Kathryn to make herself vulnerable enough to ask that question. They hadn't discussed something as monumental as him staying with her—he'd never stayed longer than a few hours before.

Of course, before there hadn't been an Ocampa rolling their three offspring toward the quarters that, somehow, Chakotay was going to have to radically redo to prepare them for the three little ones. Chakotay shifted Kathryn's weight and held her a little tighter against him.

"Of course I'll stay with you," Chakotay said. "For as long as you'll have me."

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**AN: I don't remember which episode he gets the holoemitter, but the EMH has it in this fic. Also, thank you all for your name suggestions! I'm still listening if you have some, but at least I feel ready to start making some choices for these little ones! **

**Now it's time for our parents to start learning what they're doing, to start putting together a nursery, and to start introducing their little ones to their whole Voyager family! **

**I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. We're finally "bringing home babies."**

**I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"You know, this might surprise you, B'Elanna, but this isn't about you," Chakotay said. "It wasn't just you that I didn't tell."

"You can call me the minute that you need something and I'm supposed to just—arrange it so that I can drop everything to help you, but you can't even tell me about something this serious?"

Chakotay shushed B'Elanna once more, but it was almost impossible to get the half-Klingon to keep her voice down when she wasn't pleased with something.

They were in the corridor outside Kathryn's quarters. He wanted to talk to B'Elanna in private so that she wouldn't upset Kathryn in any way. She wouldn't say anything on purpose, of course, that might offend Kathryn, but there were times when B'Elanna's mouth had been known to run away from her.

"We weren't telling anyone about the relationship," Chakotay said, his own voice barely above a whisper. "Starfleet frowns upon relationships between officers and their subordinates."

"You were a captain, too," B'Elanna pointed out. "You're only her first officer because there were too many captains on the bridge."

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"Maybe I'll remind her of that," Chakotay said. "The point is that we weren't doing this just to keep you in the dark. Kathryn didn't know how the whole crew would react."

"I can give you a little insight into how they're reacting now," B'Elanna said. "They don't like being lied to, but otherwise they're pleased."

"Omission is not technically lying," Chakotay pointed out.

"The worst part is that—you didn't even tell anyone that she was pregnant," B'Elanna said. "It was just—there are three babies. Three!"

"Don't think that this surprised you more than anyone else," Chakotay said. "I went in there thinking that the lizards were Tom's babies and..."

"Tom's babies?" B'Elanna asked. Chakotay saw the color rise to her cheeks. She and Tom were playing a game of pretending that they had no interest in one another, but Chakotay could feel the tension between them a mile away.

Of course, maybe he and Kathryn hadn't been that great at hiding things either. It seemed that people were bothered by the confirmation because it hadn't come sooner, but he hadn't exactly heard anyone saying that they were shocked to find out about the relationship itself.

"We thought they mated," Chakotay said.

"As lizards," B'Elanna added, her words coming out somewhere between a question and a statement. Chakotay nodded. "Are you sure they're yours?"

"I'm certain," Chakotay said with a laugh. "The doctor ran a DNA analysis, but—believe me, they're mine. My point is—we didn't know she was pregnant before. I didn't know. She didn't know. So every bit as surprised as you feel? We're just as surprised. And now—we have to figure out how to get ready for them in record time. That's why I called you down here. I need your engineering expertise. Can you forgive me for not telling you and just—be happy for me?"

"Of course I'm happy for you," B'Elanna said. "If you're happy."

Chakotay smiled at her sincerity. She could be difficult. She had a reputation that everyone knew. But she'd always been a good friend to Chakotay.

"With Kathryn, I'm very happy," Chakotay assured her. "I always thought—maybe I'd like to be a father. It's happened a little differently than I thought it would, but...I think I'm going to be happy with the babies, too. I just—need some help to feel like we've got some kind of control over things, because right now I feel like I don't have a grasp on anything and—it's kind of my job."

"It's not your job," B'Elanna said. "And you don't let her do that to you. Don't let her put it all on you. It's just as much the captain's job to help you as it is for you to help her."

Chakotay laughed to himself and held his hands up to calm B'Elanna.

"I didn't mean it that way," Chakotay said. "We're dividing and conquering. Right now Kes is in with Kathryn. She's teaching her about—about breastfeeding and caring for umbilical cords and things that—that belong more to Kathryn at the moment. That's her job right now. The so-called hunting and gathering? That's my job right now. That's all I meant."

"I'll help you," B'Elanna said. "With whatever I can."

"Great," Chakotay said. He stepped back toward the door of the quarters and activated it. It opened and he led B'Elanna inside.

"What's the problem?" B'Elanna asked, stepping in behind him.

Chakotay waved at the mess that, for the moment was covering nearly every free inch of the living area of the quarters.

"I didn't think about the fact that it would be better to replicate the crib pieces for one crib at a time," Chakotay say. "Now I have all of this and—this one sheet of directions."

He collected the directions off the table and handed them to B'Elanna. She blinked at them, turned the paper around once to try to make sense of the illustrations, and then she nodded her head.

"Yep. You're going to need an engineer," she said. "And—I'm going to need some tools. And a drink. It's going to be a long evening."

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Briefly seeing their babies go from big blanket bundles with heads to tiny naked babies shivering and waiting for a fresh diaper had really splashed Chakotay in the face with reality. He had adjusted the controls in the quarters for the benefit of the tiny things, but he'd adjusted them back when Kathryn—and the crib crew—had complained that the quarters were beginning to feel like a jungle.

Chakotay had taken a brief break from helping with the crib construction to check on Kathryn and the little ones. She had built something of a nest—a little reminiscent of the one that she'd built in her amphibious form—out of pillows on the bed. Chakotay didn't ask her about it, but she seemed concerned that one of the little ones might somehow escape. He wondered if it might be some residual memory leftover from hours before when they'd had that capability. Now they were not able to run away in any capacity.

Fingers and toes were carefully counted. Each baby had the recommended amount. None had tails—a concern that Kathryn had for a moment—and all had eaten well. Kes had taught her how to nurse them, and she'd generously fed them with formula to supplement any nutritional needs she'd been unable to meet. Diapers had been changed and Kes had replicated a pair of pajamas for each of them. One girl was dressed in pink, the other in purple, and their son was dressed in yellow—at least until they soiled what they were wearing. A round of pacifiers had been replicated as well, which looked humorous because they appeared far too large for the tiny mouths that sucked them on occasion.

Upon close inspection, all three of their little ones had an olive complexion and dark hair. Their daughters, however, had dark blue eyes whereas their son had eyes that were every bit as brown as Chakotay's.

Kathryn wasn't sleeping. She wasn't resting at all. It was clear that she was growing more exhausted with every passing moment. She was lying in bed worrying over the babies. She was completely and utterly overwhelmed with the fact that she'd suddenly become a mother of three, and Chakotay was certain that if she didn't sleep, she wasn't going to be able to take much more of the simple reality of their lives.

So he gathered up the babies, put two of them in the bassinet for easy maneuvering, and cradled the other in the crook of his arm.

"What are you doing with my babies?" Kathryn called out to him the moment that she realized he was strategically gathering all her young up out of the pillow nest that she'd built them.

"You're like some kind of mythological dragon with your baby hoard right now, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "You have to rest. You need to sleep or you're not going to be able to do the things they need you to do. You're not going to be able to make milk for them. You're not going to be able to care for them."

"Where are you taking them?" Kathryn asked again.

"We're going on a family trip," Chakotay said. "All the way to the living room so that you can get some rest. They're going to meet all their wonderful family members who have gathered together to try to get them beds for tonight so they're not sleeping in this nest that you've built them." She frowned at him. "Which is beautiful, by the way. It's a very nice nest."

"I don't appreciate being patronized, Chakotay," Kathryn said sincerely. "I didn't want someone to fall while—I was doing something with someone else." She frowned deeply. "I have a lot of babies. I don't know what I'm doing."

"You're doing everything perfectly," Chakotay assured her. "And your nest is a good idea. But the doctor has already called three times to make sure that you were getting some rest and every time I've lied and said you were. And every time Kes comes back, she says you need to sleep. It's time to rest now. I promise they'll all be back before you know it."

Kathryn accepted the kiss that he offered her and reached her hand out to touch the hand of the baby that Chakotay held in his arms—one of the girls—before she accepted that he was taking their brood, one way or another, all the way to the next room, and he wasn't going to let her do anything about it.

B'Elanna had called in backup. Tuvok had the most experience with babies and all things related to babies. His Vulcan logic and intuition was useful, as well, so she'd called him in to help her assemble the cribs. Harry had come to simply see if he might sneak an early peek at the babies, and he'd gotten roped into the assembly job as a direct result of it.

"Everybody," Chakotay said as he started into the room. "I have to go back for the other bassinets but—these are our little ones."

Immediately pieces to cribs were abandoned and everyone scrambled to their feet. Chakotay showed around the girl in his arms and then gestured to her siblings who were sleeping in the bassinet. They were, more than likely, just as tired as their mother. The only difference was that the babies were willing to sleep in Kathryn's presence, but it appeared that she was not yet ready to sleep in theirs.

"Can—someone hold her?" Chakotay asked. He offered the baby out toward the group. B'Elanna's expression said she wasn't sure if he was thrusting a poisonous snake in her direction. Harry's expression made him think that he wasn't sure if the baby might be set to explode. Tuvok was the first to step forward and gingerly accept the baby that he tucked into the crook of his arm without any show of concern.

"Does it have a name?" He asked.

"Right now we're just calling them the little ones," Chakotay said. "The babies. One girl, two girl, boy...you understand."

"A simple no would have sufficed," Tuvok offered.

Chakotay quickly returned to the bedroom to roll out the other two bassinets. They didn't know what they needed, so they'd replicated very little for the babies to try to keep from needlessly using power and rations. He brought the blankets from sickbay and the pacifiers.

Kathryn was already asleep. When he went around the bed to check on her, her breathing was even and she didn't notice the kiss that he pressed to her forehead. He switched the light off and took everything out into the living space to find that, while Tuvok held the baby girl he'd been entrusted to hold, B'Elanna and Harry examined the two that slept curled together in the bassinet.

"You were right about one thing," B'Elanna said when Chakotay came back into the room. "They're definitely yours. They look just like you."

"The important thing is that they look a great deal different than they did the last time I saw them," Tuvok offered.

"We better get to work on these cribs," B'Elanna said. "It's taking longer than we expected and, at the rate we're going, they're going to be spending the night in those plastic boxes."

Chakotay laughed to himself. He pushed one of the empty bassinets toward Tuvok so that he could put down the baby that he was holding if he wished to do so.

"They probably wouldn't mind," Chakotay offered. "They spent last night in a storage container."

"What?" Harry asked.

Chakotay laughed to himself and shook his head.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "Just—tell me what I can do to help."

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**AN: Given that I'll be adding all kinds of (sometimes serious and sometimes silly) adventures with the little ones, feel free to let me know if there's anything you'd like to see or would be interested in. I'll try to work it in when I can! **


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. There's a little character development here to move our relationship in the right direction.**

**I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"How complicated can a cage for babies be?" B'Elanna lamented. "That's upside down, Harry."

"If I turn it the other way, then the babies will have to defy gravity," Harry said, "or we'll be setting it up to put some kind of top on the crib."

"Given the speed at which these young escaped Commander Chakotay's grasp yesterday," Tuvok said, "a covering of some sort would not be uncalled for."

Chakotay thought they were doing pretty well—and by pretty well, he meant that they had almost worked together to successfully assemble one of the three cribs. The idea, of course, was that the first crib they assembled successfully would serve as a prototype for the other two cribs.

It was amazing that something built for infants was stumping some of the greatest minds in the universe, but Chakotay was sure they'd figure it out.

He was busy wrestling with his offspring for the time being.

Because one girl wanted to be held. It appeared, from Chakotay's perspective, that all she wanted out of life was to be held. If he held her, she was content. She sucked happily on her pacifier or dozed off to sleep. The moment he even thought of putting her down, though, she spit out her pacifier and threatened to put the entire ship on red alert.

The other girl had already needed a diaper change and Chakotay had learned, with Tuvok's assistance, exactly how to change a diaper on something that seemed so delicate. Thankfully, Tuvok was discreet enough that he hadn't said anything about Chakotay's shaky hands.

And Chakotay was almost certain that his son was edging toward hungry—given that he was whining without a soiled diaper and his whining wasn't calmed by picking him up—but Chakotay wasn't sure if he was supposed to wake Kathryn or let her sleep. He bounced the baby who might be hungry while he held the baby that needed to be held, all the while keeping an eye on the third because he was already beginning to understand Kathryn's decision to put them in a nest and lament that she simply had too many babies.

"Commander," Tuvok said loudly. Chakotay looked at him. He looked at all three of the faces that were staring at him—faces that weren't brand new to the world. All of them looked concerned. It was clear that this wasn't the first time that Tuvok had tried to get his attention.

"What's wrong?" Chakotay asked, clearing his throat.

"Are you alright?" Tuvok asked.

"I have a lot of babies," Chakotay said, echoing what Kathryn had said to him and fully understanding what she'd meant. "And I'm not sure, just yet, how to balance them."

"I have four children," Tuvok said. "However, they were not born at the same time. Nor did they arrive entirely without our expecting them. You and the captain are capable officers and you will be equally capable parents. It's best to remember that you must be delicate with yourself while you're learning because that's what this is—a learning experience. The two of you will grow into this new role together."

"It's not every day a Vulcan tells you to take it easy on yourself," Harry offered, more to B'Elanna than to Chakotay.

"What does your instinct tell you to do?" Tuvok asked, keeping his attention on Chakotay.

Chakotay rocked his son who was beginning to launch into a cry. Without saying anything, Tuvok went straight to the replicator. He returned with a bottle and offered it in Chakotay's direction.

"If I put her down to feed him, she's going to cry," Chakotay said. "My instinct is torn right now. It tells me to do my best to keep them quiet so Kathryn—the captain—can sleep. She needs to recover from this whole DNA mutation ordeal. My other instinct tells me that it's fine for them to cry some as long as I'm actively working to solve their problems. And—yet another side of my instinct tells me to focus on getting everything ready so that they have everything they need. I don't know what to do."

"We are preparing cribs now," Tuvok said. "We have built the first one. Once we have tested it to be sure that's structurally sound, we'll know how to assemble the other two without difficulty. Captain Janeway requires rest in order to perform all her duties—both as a captain and a mother. Give me the hungry one."

Chakotay passed over his son and Tuvok immediately introduced the bottle into his mouth. The baby was clearly skeptical for a moment, but then he sucked happily at the bottle while he was tucked in the crook of the Vulcan's arm.

"What are you doing?" Chakotay asked, glancing in the direction of B'Elanna and Harry. Harry was halfway into the crib, holding onto B'Elanna's shoulders for support.

"Testing to see if it's structurally sound," Harry said.

"If it'll hold Harry," B'Elanna offered, straining a little as Harry put his full weight on her to finish crawling into the crib, "it'll hold one of those."

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"Harry—why didn't you put B'Elanna in there?" Chakotay asked. "She's smaller."

"Because we're more confident in the structure if I go in," Harry said.

"Because I'm bigger than I look," B'Elanna said at the same moment.

"Because B'Elanna told me to get in," Harry amended.

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"I think I can figure out which one's the truth," Chakotay offered. "The crib looks wonderful. Now my question is—can you get the other two done while we can still call it night?"

"Better than that, Commander," Tuvok said. "We will have the cribs assembled in less than an hour. During that time, I would recommend that you return to your quarters for whatever you require for the night. The captain needs to rest, but she would also benefit from having a well-rested partner."

Chakotay gestured at the babies and Tuvok shook his head.

"Lieutenant Torres and Ensign Kim are capable of assembling the crib," Tuvok said. In the meantime, I will feed this baby and arrange some replications of other items which you may find helpful. The sleeping child will be of no consequence. Are you capable of taking the third with you?"

Chakotay looked at the little girl who was pleasantly watching him, sucking on her pacifier, content to be wherever he was and doing whatever he wanted to do.

"Thank you, Tuvok," Chakotay said, nodding and offering nothing else as a response. "Harry—B'Elanna. Thank you. I won't be gone more than ten minutes."

"Take your time," Tuvok offered. "We will be here when you return."

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"Kathryn," Chakotay said, speaking softly and close to Kathryn's ear so that he wouldn't shock her into consciousness. He repeated her name and dared to brush his lips against her cheek and then her ear.

Tuvok had the ingenious idea of replicating three small swings which rocked their little ones as they lie in them, and so far the babies seemed quite fond of the back and forth motion, but their bellies seemed to empty quickly and Chakotay knew that Kathryn was supposed to try her hand at feeding them whenever possible.

Two of them were threatening, right now, to contest their time in the swings.

Kathryn stirred and stretched. She yawned and opened her eyes.

She looked genuinely surprised to see Chakotay there. Of course, this was the first night for a lot of things. He'd never really stayed after she'd gone to sleep.

"Did you forget?" Chakotay asked.

Kathryn looked around her and slowly it started to come back to her. Chakotay could see her features relaxing. He switched on the lamp and she winced against the light.

"She's hungry," Chakotay said, rescuing one baby from the swing. "And her sister isn't far behind. I thought you might—want to try to feed them."

"How long have I been asleep?" Kathryn asked.

"You slept through a bottle for each," Chakotay said. "We have cribs now. And swings. Do you need me to call Kes?"

Chakotay wasn't sure if Kathryn would remember, from her quick lesson earlier, how to feed the babies. He didn't know if there was some special process behind it. Either it wasn't that difficult or Kathryn remembered, though, because she very quickly had her nightgown off and their daughter feeding at her breast.

"I almost feel like I shouldn't look at you," Chakotay said.

Kathryn smiled at him.

"You never had a problem looking at me when I wasn't wearing much before," Kathryn said. "Has that much changed just because I was a—lizard?"

"You don't look like a lizard now," Chakotay said. "You look—beautiful. Perfect. Like you always have. Except, maybe, when you were a lizard. But—it feels different now that I know you're feeding our daughter. One of our three children."

Kathryn frowned.

She looked at the baby who was looking at her—the one who liked to be held but had accepted the motion of the swing and a stuffed monkey as a fair substitute in a pinch. She brushed her finger over the baby's forehead.

"She's beautiful," Kathryn said, practically breathing out the words.

"She is," Chakotay said.

"It's hard to believe she's my daughter," Kathryn said. "I always thought I'd like to have a child."

"You have one," Chakotay said. "You have three, actually."

Kathryn hummed.

"Yesterday—I was just the captain of Voyager," Kathryn said. "And today, I'm a mother. A mother of three beautiful little babies."

"It happens that way," Chakotay said. "It may be a little different for other parents, but it's the same basic idea. One day they're just there."

Kathryn looked at him and raised her eyebrows at him.

"You have three babies, too," Kathryn said.

Chakotay smiled to himself.

"That's what they tell me," he teased.

"Don't try to deny it," Kathryn said, pretending to be annoyed. She was having a hard time controlling her smile. "If either of us as any reason to doubt they're our children it's me. They don't look anything like me."

"They will," Chakotay assured her. "In some ways. It wouldn't be fair for the universe to let—to let someone as beautiful as you not pass something down to her children."

Kathryn smiled.

"You're trying to flatter me," she said.

"Only if it's working," Chakotay said.

"I did ask you to spend the night," Kathryn said.

"And I packed a bag," Chakotay said.

"I do hope you'll stay," Kathryn said.

Chakotay swallowed.

"I think you're—supposed to feed her from both sides. Isn't that what Kes said?"

Kathryn followed his instructions and changed the baby's position. The baby didn't care for the practice, and she cried a little over the injustice of it all, but eventually she accepted that she wasn't really being too cruelly denied what she wanted just because she had to succumb to being arranged differently.

"How long do you want me to stay, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked.

Kathryn sucked in a breath and let it out.

"I guess that's—up to you," Kathryn said.

Chakotay considered his response a long moment. He watched Kathryn watching the baby while she fed. He glanced toward the swings that he'd lined up. One was sleeping. The other was wiggling around. She probably wouldn't remain calm until her sister had finished eating.

If he'd ever wanted a family, here was one now. There was a woman that he loved. A woman that gave him peace that he couldn't explain. A woman who calmed a storm that had been raging in him so long that he could barely recall when it had begun or why. And there were three beautiful, perfect babies—babies who looked like him. Babies who would grow to have the best of both of them.

So he carefully considered his answer before he presented it to Kathryn.

"I can't look at you and—our children—and decide to do something with one foot in the door and one foot out," Chakotay said. "I won't push you. I wouldn't want you to do anything that makes you uncomfortable. But—I either go in the morning, Kathryn, and help you with the children from a distance, or I stay forever. I don't think that I can choose something in between."

Kathryn looked at him. She nodded her head.

"I see," she said. She detached their daughter from her breast and offered her out to Chakotay. "Are you any good at burping? I can try to feed the other little one—before she gets too upset."

Chakotay accepted the interruption to their conversation. He gave Kathryn their other daughter before he took the one she offered him and did his best to burp her according to what Tuvok had shown him. He was gently rubbing circles on the baby's back when he spoke again.

"I understand it's a lot to ask," Chakotay said. "Especially after—so much has happened in these last two days. I won't ask you to decide until the morning."

Kathryn laughed quietly to herself.

"I don't need until the morning," Kathryn said. "I've never been more certain of anything in my life. I want you to stay. I always wanted to be a mother, Chakotay. But I always wanted to—be a wife, too. Unless—that's too much and you need until the morning to think about it."

Chakotay felt a warmth pooling in his stomach. His breathing picked up. He'd almost been certain that she'd be scared. He'd almost prepared for her to turn him away. But she wasn't turning him away.

"I'm supposed to be the one that asks you," Chakotay pointed out.

"Then you will," Kathryn said. "When you're ready. Until then—will you stay the night? And then—will you stay the night again?"

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"And then a few more," he teased.

"Until?" Kathryn asked.

"Maybe eternity," Chakotay asked.

Kathryn smiled to herself.

"She's almost too sleepy to eat," Kathryn mused.

"She wants to sleep every time she eats," Chakotay pointed out.

"You said it feels different to look at me now," Kathryn said. "Now that I'm a mother. I hope—that won't always be the case. I'm happy to be a mother, Chakotay. And I'm happy to be a wife—when you ask me, of course. But—I did enjoy the time I had being your lover."

Chakotay laughed to himself. His chest tightened.

"Don't worry," he said. "Different isn't always a bad thing. You're still—the most exquisite example of a woman that I've ever seen, Kathryn. And—when the time is right, I don't think either of us will have any problem finding that again. I know that—for as long as I'm here..."

"Until eternity," Kathryn offered. Chakotay nodded.

"For as long as I'm here," Chakotay repeated. "I'm going to find you desirable."

"Promise?" Kathryn asked.

"I swear it," Chakotay said. "With all these little ones as witnesses."

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**AN: Don't worry, we're going to name our little ones. Our parents have been overwhelmed, after all. They didn't have much time to prepare and they've been in survival mode. Hopefully now they can start to settle into parenthood. **


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. Thank you all for such wonderful feedback. Even if I don't get around to answering each of you individually, please know that I appreciate all your comments and I read them repeatedly! **

**I hope that you enjoy the chapter! Please let me know what you think! **

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"Oh—there we go," Kathryn said from the bathroom. Chakotay smiled to himself. She had their son and she was giving him a sponge bath. On the bed in front of him, wrapped tightly in blankets, were the two girls. Both were awake, but one was wide-eyed while the other was observing him through tiny slits. Their son, from the sound of it, was not a fan of baths. "Oh! Now you just think you don't like it because you won't give it a chance!" Chakotay swallowed down his laughter. "Now—see there? It's not so bad and when you're done? You'll be wrapped up all nice and warm. You like that. You like being nice and warm and wrapped up. Daddy?"

Kathryn had to call Chakotay twice before he remembered that he was Daddy and realized that she was ready for him to come and retrieve the last of their little ones to be clean. When he got to the bathroom, she passed him over another baby wrapped tightly in its blanket like the other two.

"Take him to the bed," Kathryn said. "I'll bring clothes."

Chakotay took his son to the bed and lined him up next to his sisters. He was done crying now. He was satisfied to be wrapped in his blanket. The worst of the torture, apparently, was done.

Kathryn returned to the bed with her arms full. She tossed clothing and diapers down and handed Chakotay a bottle.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Lotion," she said. "You rub them down with it. Massage them a little. And I'll dress them."

Chakotay laughed to himself, but he accepted his task.

The whole morning, between feeding babies and changing babies, which felt like a full time job, Kathryn had been reading about newborns and their needs.

And, when she hadn't been reading, they had been discussing the names that their little ones would carry into the future because Kes was coming by soon to take their very first cleaned-up-and-presentable human pictures for their medical files and to record their names for their official birth certificates.

"You're sure you haven't changed your mind on any of their names?" Kathryn asked. "Because there's still time. We don't have to stick with what we planned."

"I like their names," Chakotay said. "I think they're perfect."

He slathered his first daughter down in the sweet smelling baby lotion. She stared at him, wide-eyed, while he worked. She treated him like she was fascinated by him. She was perfectly content—any time her diaper was clean and her tummy was full—as long as someone was holding her or, at the very least, they were able to arrange her monkey so that she could be fooled into believing that someone was holding her.

Chakotay smiled at her. She didn't smile back, but she did flick her tongue out—a warning that she was getting hungry more than a tribute to her father.

"Elizabeth Sekaya," Chakotay said. "Lizzie."

He scooped her up and passed her over to Kathryn who immediately began putting her diaper on to start dressing her.

"You're sure?" Kathryn asked.

"She reminds me of you," Chakotay said.

"She's barely two days old," Kathryn said.

"She's happy when everything is going her way, but she lets us know when things aren't going her way," Chakotay said. "And—I like the way she looks at me. Like I can do anything."

"You can do anything," Kathryn said.

"It's only fair that she has her mother's middle name and my sister's name," Chakotay said.

"Are you sure you wouldn't prefer that we called her Sekaya?" Kathryn asked.

"Lizzie," Chakotay said.

They'd come up with the names together while going through their list of possibilities. Kathryn had given Chakotay the honor, however, of unofficially bestowing the names on the babies.

His second daughter yawned at him as he slathered her down with lotion. She maintained her expression of being barely awake. She clearly enjoyed the little massage he gave her with the lotion, groaning at him as thanks, and she would probably nap between being dressed and being offered a snack.

"Phoebe Gretchen," Chakotay said, passing her over as soon as soon as Kathryn was ready for her. "Phoebe. From everything you told me about your sister—she's our little dreamer."

"That's only because she's asleep most of the time," Kathryn said with a laugh.

"You'd prefer Gretchen Phoebe?" Chakotay asked. "And we'll call her Gretchen after your mother?"

"Phoebe is fine," Kathryn said. "Lizzie and Phoebe."

"And Kolopak Edward," Chakotay said, bringing his son over for the same treatment as his sisters. He fussed as Chakotay unwrapped him from his blanket and Chakotay offered him a pacifier to soothe him until he realized that the lotion was really no more torturous than the bath had been. "Kol," Chakotay said. "And like his grandfather, he's slow to accept change."

Kathryn laughed quietly. She worked quickly to dress the little ones in their freshly replicated outfits, and she lined them up on the bed as she finished dressing them. As soon as Chakotay finished slathering Kol with lotion, Kathryn passed him the diaper and clothing for the little boy.

"You dress Kol," she ordered. "I'll start feeding. Kes will be here any minute and we don't want them to be in a bad mood when she's trying to take their little pictures."

Chakotay didn't point out that the pictures she would take were hardly more than mugshots. For the moment, Kathryn was perfectly happy preparing their little ones for photos, and Chakotay wasn't going to take that away from her. She needed to nest and nurture. She needed to enjoy them. He certainly wasn't going to stop her.

Chakotay dressed Kol and held him until Kathryn had finished nursing Lizzie. Since Phoebe was already napping, and not nearly as concerned with her meal, Chakotay traded babies with Kathryn so that Kol could eat first. Lizzie refused her pacifier when Chakotay offered it, but she didn't cry. After she burped, she simply chose to stare at him or, at most, to turn her head to try to see why Kol was crying. Kol, of course, was crying because he hadn't yet decided that he wanted to eat, but it didn't take long for him to settle in and feed with determination.

By the time that Kes arrived, all three babies were fed and burped. Miraculously, nobody had spit up, so Chakotay was contributing that to the fact that they were better parents than they'd been at the last feeding when all three had spit up.

"So this is..." Kes said, writing in her PADD.

"Elizabeth Sekaya," Kathryn said. "S-A..."

"S-E-K-A-Y-A," Chakotay corrected.

"And?"

"Phoebe Gretchen," Kathryn said.

"They're beautiful names," Kes said with a smile as she recorded the names. "And he's..."

"Kolopak Edward," Chakotay said. He immediately spelled his son's name to save Kes the effort of asking him for assistance.

"Well, they're all wonderful names," Kes said. She put down her PADD to pick up the camera that she'd brought. She snapped pictures of each of the three of them propped on the bed—Lizzie had held onto Chakotay's finger for the extent of her picture taking time so that she didn't realize she was being put down. "And they're beautiful," Kes said. "We had them all down as having brown eyes like you, Commander, but it appears that..."

"Lizzie and Phoebe have blue eyes," Chakotay interjected quickly. "Like their mother."

Kes smiled and nodded.

"Like their mother," she echoed. "You'll need to bring them all in for a check-up soon, but you can take a few more days to just be on maternity and paternity leave with them."

"I have to get back to the bridge," Kathryn said.

"You're still on medical leave from the whole Warp 10 incident," Chakotay said.

"The commander is right," Kes said. "And, besides, it will do you good to have some time with your babies, Captain. I'm sure that Commander Tuvok has everything under control."

"And he'll let us know the moment that he doesn't," Chakotay added.

Kes studied the babies. Chakotay held Phoebe and Lizzie while Kathryn held Kol. All three were content for the time being, and Kes seemed to want to simply admire them.

"It's amazing to think what they were like when you brought them in, Commander," Kes said. "Slithering around in a storage container."

"I'm sure you felt that way with Tom and me as well," Kathryn offered.

"We did, but we weren't sure if we'd be able to convert the DNA of the babies or not. We thought they'd been conceived with the mutated DNA, so we expected there to be problems," Kes said.

"There might have been," Chakotay said, "if that had been the case."

"If you hadn't had more surprises for us," Kes said. "I know I said congratulations for the babies, but—I don't know if congratulations are in order for your relationship?"

"We'll gladly accept it," Kathryn said.

"So you've decided to—continue it?" Kes asked.

"You could say that," Chakotay said. "We're dedicated to our children and—to each other."

"And that's all we'd like to say on the matter for now," Kathryn said. "But you'll be one of the first that we tell if things should change."

"If they change," Kes said, "then I'll hope they only change for the better."

She leaned closer to Lizzie who seemed as fascinated by Kes as Kes was by the infants she was examining.

"You know the girls—they really are identical," Kes said.

"They look a look a great deal alike," Kathryn agreed.

"I mean they're entirely identical," Kes said. "They began as one embryo. They split and came back together to form two."

"But they're individuals," Kathryn said.

"Are they?" Kes asked.

"They have different personalities already," Chakotay assured her. "They are both very calm babies. They do share that, but they display it differently."

"It's a fascinating thing to explore," Kes said, "especially since they started as one person. It does make you wonder what the fourth would be like, doesn't it?"

"The fourth?" Kathryn asked.

"Yes, Captain," Kes said. "When the embryo's split, they came back together forming two separate people. Like Phoebe and Lizzie. Only—Kol is the only boy that remains from the second split."

Chakotay was pretty sure that he couldn't feel any worse at that moment if a Klingon had slashed him through the guts with a bat'leth and spilled his organs to the floor. He cleared his throat and stood up.

"Oh—I'm sorry," Kes said. "Did I say something wrong?"

Chakotay deposited Phoebe on the bed because she didn't mind one way or another, and balancing Lizzie in the crook of his arm, he started walking Kes toward the door of their quarters with her things.

"It's fine, Kes," Chakotay assured her. "There were some things that we hadn't gotten around to discussing yet, but you've opened the door to talk about them."

"I'm so sorry!" Kes declared. "Captain," she called, even as she went with Chakotay's gentle steering. "I'm sorry. I thought you knew."

Kathryn responded enough to call to Kes that it was fine. Chakotay heard enough in her voice, though, to know that it wasn't fine at all. When he reached the door with Kes, he accepted her repeated apology and shook his head at her.

"You've apologized enough," Chakotay said. "You didn't do anything wrong. Sooner or later we were going to have to discuss the possibility—or the probability—that there was a fourth baby. I wasn't trying to hide it from Kathryn. I was simply waiting until it seemed like a good time to talk to her about it."

"I shouldn't have said anything," Kes said. "I should have waited until—you brought it up."

"It's fine," Chakotay assured her again. "It was a difficult conversation to start with a new mother, and you've started it for me. So you've done me a favor in some strange way. But—if you don't mind? I'd like to thank you for recording their information and—I'd like to talk to Kathryn now. Before she's had too long to overthink things."

Kes nodded her head.

"Of course, Commander," she agreed. "Tell the captain I'm sorry?"

"There's no need, but I'll tell her," Chakotay said.

"Tell her—the babies are beautiful," Kes said.

Chakotay smiled at her.

"I'll certainly give her that message."

Chakotay saw Kes out and then he and Lizzie made a quick stop by the replicator. He knew there were some things that couldn't be soothed with food, but a warm beverage could make just about anything more comfortable. He requested a black coffee and carried it with him to the bedroom.

Kathryn was sitting on the bed, legs crossed, with Phoebe cradled in her legs and Kol cradled in her arms. She wasn't crying, but her frown was deep set. She looked at Chakotay when he came through the door.

"Are you OK?" He asked, walking over and putting the mug of coffee on the nightstand beside her chosen side of the bed.

"What happened to my baby?" Kathryn asked.


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. **

**I hope that you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"It's one of us," Tom said. "It could just as easily have been my kid if there wasn't this whole relationship that we're all pretending we knew nothing about between Chakotay and the captain."

He seemed to ignore, entirely, the expression that his comment drew from B'Elanna.

"It is possible that a fourth offspring heard us before we reached the area and abandoned the nest before we could see it," Tuvok said. "We did not explore the area further. As we counted three offspring leaving the nest, we logically concluded that we had gathered the entire family once three of them were safely inside the storage container."

"Nobody's placing any blame here," Tom said. "We all might've done the same thing in the same situation. The only thing we need to discuss is how we're going to rectify the situation."

"If we did leave it behind," B'Elanna said, "then it's entirely alone. It's the only one of its kind on a planet where nothing is going to understand it because it doesn't belong there and they have no prior experience with this species. That's a cruel fate to subject any living creature to just to save a few days on a journey that could, realistically, take longer than our lifetimes."

"If we did leave one, and if it really is a baby like the others, who can say that it hasn't already met a natural predator or—or even starved to death?" Harry asked.

"Who can say it hasn't?" B'Elanna countered quickly.

"We've only been travelling at warp three or four," Tom said, interrupting them before this somehow erupted into some kind of verbal sparring. "Even from sickbay I know it's been clear space. We're what? Two or three days away at that speed."

"Less," B'Elanna said. "We remained in orbit the first night to be sure we weren't missing any necessary environmental data that would be pertinent to the DNA conversion."

"If suspicions had been officially reported," Tuvok said, "we could have resumed our search quickly and with ease."

"I can hardly guarantee the existence of a fourth offspring," the doctor said.

"We're only working from a medical assumption," Kes said. "What we know is that the embryos split and were reconstituted."

"It is logical," Tuvok said, "given your observations. If the female split and reformed as two separate beings, then one would logically assume that the same might have happen to the male."

The doctor nodded his agreement and confirmation with Tuvok's statement.

"It would stand to reason that the pattern observed would continue," the doctor said. "Therefore, it's logical to assume that both embryos split."

"The only question that remains, then," Tuvok said, "is whether or not we turn the ship around to retrace our steps on the chance that there is, indeed, a fourth offspring to be found?"

"We're talking about it like—it's an animal," Tom said.

"They're—amphibious in their non-altered state," Kes offered.

"My point is that it's a human," Tom said. "A baby. In whatever form."

"Captain Janeway and Chakotay's baby," B'Elanna said. "At fastest warp and straight back, we could be there in less than a day."

"Hours, actually," Tom said. "At warp nine. We run scans of the planet and we send a search team. We'll hardly lose anything, but we'll gain peace of mind for the captain and Chakotay at least. I can pilot if I need to."

"You're still on medical leave," the doctor informed him.

"I promise not to engage in hand to hand combat between here and the bridge," Tom said with a laugh. "I feel fine enough to fly and—I'm willing to pilot."

"We should ask the captain," Tuvok said. "She will want to authorize any change of course."

"She'll say that it's better to keep going," Tom said. "Even if that's not how she really feels on a personal level. You know that, Tuvok. We all know that. She'll say that she doesn't want to take time away from the trip for the sake of the crew or something to that effect."

"And the whole crew—especially if they've had the chance to see the babies—would approve of going back for one of her children," B'Elanna said, "even if it turned out that we scoured the whole planet and there were no more lizards to be found."

"The captain will have to be made aware of the course change," Tuvok offered.

"She's still on sick-leave," Tom said. "And you're serving in her place for the moment. I say we tell her once we're there. Then she can't argue for something that she really doesn't want to argue for. Come on, Tuvok. Be brave. Make a decision."

"My bravery has nothing to do with it," Tuvok said. "However, I agree that it would be best for the mental state of both the captain and the commander for us to seek their probably fourth child. I also believe that the captain would, in theory, downplay her concern over the child for what she would see as the good of the crew. Therefore, I believe that the plan that you propose—which, though unorthodox, is not entirely against Starfleet regulations—would be the prudent course of action. We'll proceed with our return to the planet. Report to your duty post as soon as possible. We'll lay in a course."

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"Are you sure that you we're going in the right direction?" Kathryn asked.

"We're going in the direction of the signal," Chakotay responded.

"But you don't remember?" Kathryn asked.

"One sloppy bog on this planet looks like the next," Chakotay said. "When we were looking for you, I wasn't exactly focused on the scenery. Besides, I'm pretty sure we beamed down to a point that was different than the spot where we landed our shuttle. We were right near the—the swamp—when we landed. We didn't see this much of the jungle. Of course—we did ask to be beamed down to a location where there was no life detected to avoid beaming down right next to an unforeseen problem."

Kathryn laughed despite the clear amount of anxiety that Chakotay could feel practically rising off of her like steam off the puddles of water that stood in spots on the otherwise damp and muddy ground.

They'd scanned the area and had come back with a large number of life forms reported. None of them were humanoid, and possibly none were intelligent life, but there were certainly numerous examples of flora and fauna on the planet. So far, all the life that they'd encountered had rustled in the branches of the trees and skittered away as quickly as possible. Chakotay hadn't actually seen anything that belonged to the planet.

They had also scanned the area for human DNA—residual and otherwise—and they'd gotten a clear reading on one small area that came back positive for human DNA.

When Kes had left them alone after her slip of the tongue, and Chakotay explained to Kathryn the doctor's theory about the splitting and rejoining of the embryos she'd been carrying at the time of reaching warp ten, she'd accepted the explanation. She'd also accepted that they had no idea if there had actually been a fourth baby, or if Kol had never split in the same way his sister—when his sisters had been one—had split.

She didn't blame them for discovering this after they returned to the ship and failing to suspect it while gathering her lizard-like young from the swamp. She didn't blame them, even, for not going on something of a wild goose chase in search of something that might not exist. She didn't blame anyone for anything, and she wasn't angry.

But she had been sad, and she hadn't tried to hide that from Chakotay. He'd felt it, too, and he'd promised her that they would handle it together. They would love the three that they had and, when they were alone and had the quiet opportunities to do so, they would mourn the one that might-not-have-even-been together.

He'd held her in his arms while she'd shed her first sincere tears over the thought that a baby—one who would have been identical to Kol—might have been left behind to suffer whatever fate befell it. She'd dried her tears to care for their three little ones as they demanded it, but she'd let them fall again whenever things were quiet and her crying wasn't going to upset their little ones.

And then they'd gotten the call that requested they report to the bridge just as Neelix and Kes arrived in their quarters to sit with the babies so that they could go, unencumbered, to the requested meeting.

The crew hadn't given them a choice. They hadn't asked their opinion. It had been presented as a matter of fact and nothing less. They had been informed by the medical staff that there was a very real possibility that one of their most vulnerable crew members had been left behind on an alien planet, and they were organizing a search and rescue mission. It was only suitable, of course, that Kathryn and Chakotay lead the mission while their three children were attended to and the ship was protected in orbit.

Chakotay was happy that they hadn't presented it as a question. If she'd been asked if she wanted to turn around, Kathryn would have likely said that she wasn't going to do that on a gamble because she didn't want to inconvenience her crew for something that she would see as benefitting the few—and though she would do something to benefit the few when it came to her crew, she seldom gave herself the same grace. Instead, it was presented as something that was already decided, by the crew no less, so there was no way that she could refuse it—though Chakotay had noticed that she didn't try to refuse it.

Kathryn wanted to search for their child as much as she wanted anything else at the moment—even if she wouldn't admit it to everyone around her.

"Tom picked a lovely place to for me to have the babies," Kathryn said. "That smell..."

"Is stagnated water or some chemical compound that's produced here," Chakotay offered. "If you think it's bad here, wait'll you get near the swamp."

Kathryn laughed to herself.

"Where you had to go fishing for the babies?" Kathryn asked.

"I kept my mouth closed most of the time because I didn't want any of the water accidentally getting in," Chakotay offered with a laugh.

"I hope we find him," Kathryn said.

"I'm sorry that—I didn't know he was here," Chakotay admitted. It wasn't the first time that he'd uttered something similar to her, and she dropped back to wrap her arm around him while they walked. She leaned into him.

"You didn't know," she said. "I'm grateful that you got the other three little ones."

"Phoebe, Lizzie, and Kol," Chakotay said. "We have to get used to calling them by name. We can't call them the little ones for their whole lives."

"What if we don't find him," Kathryn said.

"We'll search the area, make sure that the DNA readings are residual—and at least we'll know that we didn't leave him behind," Chakotay said.

"What if we do find him but..." Kathryn didn't finish what she was going to say, and she didn't need to.

"We'll handle it," Chakotay said. "But at least we'll know. We have to remember that—he's far more advanced than Phoebe, Lizzie, and Kol are now. They were far more advanced when we found them. He would have a lot more ability to survive than they would right now."

"But he's still a baby," Kathryn offered.

"According to the readings, we should be coming upon the place where the DNA is showing soon. Just over that ridge," Chakotay said.

Kathryn put her hands down in the mud to help herself over—practically on all fours—when she rushed to reach the little ridge before Chakotay. It was a steep incline, and as soon as she cleared it, she gasped and ran forward. Chakotay picked up his steps, made it over with a little less effort than she had thanks to his longer strides, and emerged from the piece of tropical-style forest to find the beach area where they'd located Kathryn and Tom in their advanced forms.

"This is it," Kathryn said.

"Do you recognize it?" Chakotay asked with a laugh.

"I don't know," Kathryn admitted. "But I feel like I know I was here. I feel like—I know the babies were here."

"Mother's intuition?" Chakotay asked. Kathryn didn't respond. She was looking at the swamp. She was looking at the area where she'd delivered their children. Whether or not she'd been in an amphibious state at the time of the birth was irrelevant at the moment. "Can you sense—if he's still here somewhere? The scans are reading DNA, but now I'm concerned that it's only detecting us to make it stronger than before."

"We'll never find him if he's in the water," Kathryn said mournfully. "How can we search the whole swamp?"

"We'll divide up," Chakotay said. "We'll go piece by piece. Now that we know the exact coordinates, we can have others beam down."

"That was my nest?" Kathryn asked, pointing toward the nest that had been made in the sand. It was still there with nothing seeming to have even disrupted it since they'd been there. Their tracks were still all around. The tracks that every amphibious lifeform had made were still there.

And Kathryn dropped down to her knees beside the nest and started to dig it out like she was searching for the bottom.

"Kathryn—it might not be a good idea to put your hands in there," Chakotay offered. "You don't know what's decided to make it home in your absence and we're getting readings of lifeforms all around us."

Kathryn ignored Chakotay's warnings about digging in the hole that her amphibious self had created and left behind when they'd taken her from the planet. Chakotay winced when she gasped—over elbow-deep in the no-doubt soggy hole—and he hoped that, at the very least, they could capture whatever creature had likely bitten her to take to the doctor for an antidote in the case that it was venomous.

But he was surprised when she pulled back from the hole and, instead of bringing out some horrible creature he couldn't identify, she came out holding a small, familiar-looking amphibian. She hugged it to her chest and sat back on her heels.

"Chakotay..." was all she managed to get out.

"It seems there's something to be said for mother's intuition," Chakotay said. "Is he?"

"I don't know," Kathryn said. "He's—alive, but...I don't know..."

Chakotay didn't say anything and he didn't waste time. He simply walked over to where Kathryn was kneeling and touched his combadge.

"We've found him," Chakotay said.

"That was faster than expected, Commander," Tuvok's voice responded.

Chakotay chose not to waste time. He was sure the Vulcan would understand.

"Three to beam directly to sickbay," Chakotay commanded, seconds before they all left the steaming planet behind.


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. **

**I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"Will he survive the reconfiguration?" Kathryn asked, stroking the amphibious form of their fourth child affectionately as it rested in the incubator box where the doctor was preparing to begin the process that would transform it into a form more recognizable to them all.

"I cannot be certain," the doctor said.

"Then—is it better to leave him like this?" Kathryn asked. "Would he live like this?"

Chakotay was certain, at that moment, that Kathryn would have the fourth of their children forever in his amphibious state if that's what it took to have him at all. There was no hesitation whatsoever in her voice. If the doctor confirmed he could live as a lizard forever, Kathryn would have scooped him out of the box without hesitation and taken him back to her quarters to nest with him just as surely as she had with their other little ones.

Chakotay was sure they would adjust to their amphibious offspring, but the doctor quickly made it clear that was not an option.

"He will not survive in this form much longer," the doctor said. "We have no way of gathering information about the changes in his DNA and his requirements for life in time to save him. We don't know what he eats and your milk, which would provide the most complete nutrition for him to help him build his strength, has changed since you were in the form that was compatible to him."

Kathryn nodded her head.

"I understand," she said. "How long will it take?"

"It took approximately two hours with your other babies," the doctor said. "I have every reason to believe that it will take the same amount of time with this one."

"Is it painful?" Kathryn asked, continuing to stroke the still creature that was either sleeping or too weak to move. "Will he—suffer?"

"I will do everything I can to make him comfortable," the doctor assured her. "But it's really better if we begin, Captain."

"I should stay," Kathryn said.

"Captain—you must rest. You have undergone a great deal, whether or not you realize it. Providing for the formation of four lives, especially in such a short amount of time, was demanding for your body. That is not taking into consideration any of the other physical and emotional stress that you've undergone. You need to rest and build your own strength. I will call for you as soon as the process is complete."

"So I just—leave him again," Kathryn said.

"He is sedated," the doctor said. "He will not be aware of your absence. In your current form, it's possible that he has never fully understood your presence."

Chakotay stepped in and wrapped his arm around Kathryn's shoulder. He pulled her to him and she came readily enough. For a moment, she forgot every bit of Starfleet decorum that she might want to practice in front of anyone. She sunk into Chakotay and sought a stronger and more complete embrace, which he gladly gave her.

"Doctor," Chakotay said, "we're going to the Captain's—our— quarters. We're going to—check on Lizzie, Kol, and Phoebe. We'll send Kes to help you. Will you let us know as soon as you know anything?"

"I will call the moment that we have any information, Commander," the doctor assured him.

Chakotay thanked him and Kathryn whispered a thanks. She glanced back toward the amphibious creature that was their child's current incarnation, and then she went with Chakotay. She didn't let go of him, even as they entered the corridor, and he doubted that anyone who encountered them would even admit that they'd seen the overly warm embrace between the two of them.

They didn't know if their fourth child—so recently confirmed to even be in existence—would survive the next two hours. Even Starfleet would have allowed them the comfort of an embrace.

When they reached the quarters that it seemed they were now sharing, Chakotay buzzed them in and led Kathryn directly inside. They were immediately met with something entirely the opposite of the gloomy and somewhat heavy air of possible death in sickbay. In their quarters, they were met with the overflowing enthusiasm of Kes and Neelix, each of which held a currently happy and cooing baby. Phoebe and Lizzie it seemed, were wide awake while Kol napped in one of the swings that had been dragged into their living area for the time being.

"Captain! Commander!" Neelix greeted with bubbling enthusiasm as soon as they entered. "Congratulations on bringing a fourth little one to the family!"

Kathryn swiped at her eyes and thanked Neelix as she reached her arms out for the baby he was holding. He passed the baby over without hesitation—though Chakotay wasn't sure yet which girl it was—and Kathryn cuddled the baby close against her. Then she disappeared, without explanation, toward the bedroom.

Chakotay followed her with his eyes before he looked back at the concerned looks of Neelix and Kes.

"Congratulations aren't in order just yet," Chakotay said. "The baby is alive, but he's weak. There's nothing we can do for him until the doctor is done converting his DNA to our current DNA. He may not survive the transformation." 

"Commander—I'm sorry," Neelix said, his words coming out just as Kes echoed the sentiment.

Chakotay shook his head.

"It's not time for that, either," he said. "Kes—the doctor would like you to report to sickbay if possible."

"Absolutely," Kes said. "This is—Phoebe."

She passed the baby over to Chakotay and he cradled her in his arms. Without another word, Kes left the room and slipped out into the corridor.

"That's Lizzie," Neelix said. "Kes has a hard time telling them apart. But—she hasn't let Kes put her down since she picked her up. Lizzie likes to be held. Phoebe doesn't mind it—but Lizzie really likes to be held."

Chakotay laughed to himself. The baby, staring at him with wide-eyed wonderment on her face, was clearly Lizzie.

"She does," Chakotay said. "Lizzie loves to be loved."

"Is there anything I can do, Commander?" Neelix asked. "Anything—that the captain might need? Something she might—want? To make her feel a bit better...as Chief Morale Officer, I would be happy to get her anything she might enjoy."

Chakotay shook his head. The Talaxian almost looked deflated, as though he were taking on the emotions of his broken-hearted captain.

"I think she just needs some space for now," Chakotay said.

"I'm going to start dinner," Neelix said. "Do you think that there's anything she might like to eat?"

"She liked that lasagna that you made," Chakotay said.

"With the morillian squash?" Neelix asked. Chakotay nodded. Neelix smiled. "We've got plenty in airponics that need to be used. I'll whip some up for dinner and deliver it here."

"Thank you," Chakotay said. "And thank you—and Kes—for taking such good care of our little ones."

"It was no problem, Commander," Neelix said. "Any time. I hope—well, I hope that there's another for us to babysit some other time."

"Me too," Chakotay agreed.

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Chakotay gave Kathryn a little space while she sequestered herself in the bedroom with Phoebe to get her feelings under control. He rocked Lizzie and held her in his lap while she watched him to make sure that he wasn't trying to trick her into doing something awful like lying by herself in the same fashion that her brother clearly thought was acceptable.

He wound up Kol's swing and watched as the infant slept, sucking his oversized pacifier every now and again, and swayed back and forth to the rhythm set by the machine.

And he waited for Kathryn to emerge from the bedroom, which she did, when she was ready to do so.

Her face was red, but she showed no other sign of having cried. The baby that she'd taken with her was asleep and resting against her chest. Chakotay wasn't even certain that Kathryn had known who she had. Maybe it didn't matter, or maybe she'd already learned to simply sense who was who. He didn't ask her. Kathryn slipped Phoebe into one of the unoccupied swings and wound the crank on the swing before she went to the replicator and requested a coffee. She stood by the replicator and sipped the beverage for a few moments before she made her way over to the couch where Chakotay was sitting. She sat beside him.

"Tuvok said that it was B'Elanna and Tom that fought the hardest to go back for him," Kathryn said. "He'll need a name and—I don't have any other name that I really wanted him to carry on into the future. Unless—you wanted a son named after you?"

"I hadn't even thought about it," Chakotay admitted. He reached his hand over and caught Kathryn's hand. He raised it to his lips and kissed the soft skin before he worked it between his fingers. "I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk about naming him yet."

Kathryn swallowed down some of her coffee and winced. It was clearly far too hot for the swallow that she'd taken.

"Even if he doesn't make it," Kathyrn said. "He'll need a name. I need—I need for him to have a name."

Chakotay nodded.

"I wouldn't argue against that," Chakotay said. "My people believed that names were very important. They can shape who you are. In my tribe's language, there was a word that meant—warrior. Fighter. I remember it from when I was young. I've teased B'Elanna for it before because the word was belan."

Kathryn smiled to herself.

"Do you think the Klingons might have known the significance?" Kathryn asked. "That B'Elanna's mother might have known the significance?"

"I doubt it," Chakotay said. "But—it's a strong name for a strong Klingon. A good name for a warrior."

"And an excellent name for—a baby?"

"A true fighter," Chakotay offered.

"I hope so," Kathryn said softly. Chakotay squeezed her hand in response and she gave him a hint of a smile, even though it was quite melancholy. He decided to divert her attention back to something more pleasant for the moment.

"If we give him Belan for his father's heritage and to honor B'Elanna," Chakotay said. "Then would you rather use Thomas or Eugene?"

Kathryn considered it and sipped her coffee—clearly cooling now. Chakotay shifted Lizzie in his arms when she fussed to suggest that she might be uncomfortable or she might simply be starting to consider what other demands that she could have of them.

"Belan Thomas," Kathryn said. "It sounds better than Belan Eugene."

"Do you like Belan?" Chakotay asked. "Or would you rather choose something else?"

"I like it," Kathryn assured him. "Belan Thomas. I like it. Do you?"

Chakotay laughed to himself.

"I like whatever you like," he said.

He took his hand back from Kathryn to readjust Lizzie again, but it was clear that she was quickly becoming far less enamored of him than she had been in the past. Kathryn reached her hands out to take her.

"We don't know when they were last fed," Kathryn said. "She might be hungry."

"Or wet," Chakotay said.

Kathryn was already working her way out of the clean uniform that she'd clearly changed into while she'd been in the bedroom with Phoebe. It took her a bit of work to get her jacket unzipped, one-handed, her shirt pulled up, and everything adjusted so that she could offer Lizzie the chance to feed. Lizzie considered it a moment, practically testing whether or not the offer was some kind of trick with her tongue, and then she latched on greedily."

"She might be wet," Kathryn said, "but hunger seems to be winning out."

"Your uniform isn't very—friendly," Chakotay said. "Not for nursing."

"It was never meant to be worn for nursing," Kathryn said. "I was never meant to—have babies. Just to be the captain."

"You could have had babies," Chakotay said.

"But I would have been on leave," Kathryn said.

"Still, that's not exactly stripped of your rank," Chakotay said. "You have plenty of days. You don't even take your normal R and R time."

"Getting us back to the Alpha Quadrant, and getting us through the Delta Quadrant, doesn't leave me with too much of that luxury," Kathryn said. "It'll be fine to take some down time while the skies are clear, but I have to be prepared. On guard. The next thing we know and the Kazon are back or—something worse."

"I wasn't suggesting you leave command," Chakotay said. "I was just suggesting looking into a different uniform style for the time being to make nursing easier when you do it. Unless—you wanted to move exclusively to bottles."

Kathryn frowned at him.

"You heard what the doctor said. Supplemental feeding with formula is wonderful to make sure tummies are full, but...I can give them things that are formulated specially for them, Chakotay. That's part of—being their mother. I can't give them everything they need because my body just won't allow it, but I can at least give them some of what they need. And as long as I can do that? I want to."

"So we look through the uniform styles for something more practical," Chakotay said. "An undershirt that's better designed. Someone has nursed while being active in Starfleet, I'm sure."

He dropped his arm around her and massaged her shoulder with his hand. She smiled softly to herself. Her eyes were focused on Lizzie, though, who seemed like she was trying to combine eating and sleeping for the best experience possible.

"How are we going to do this...and handle the ship...with so many little ones?" Kathryn asked.

"We'll figure it out," Chakotay said. "And we'll have help. You aren't regretting it, are you? That I brought them back?"

"Never," Kathryn said. "In fact—even though so much of me is worried how I'll—how I'll be the captain and a mother...the rest of me is desperately hoping that I'll be a mother of four."

"You already are," Chakotay assured her. "All those things. And you'll be excellent at it because you excel at everything you do. If you're OK—and while everyone seems settled for a bit—I'd like to take advantage of a few of these moments of silence."

Kathryn gave him a kiss when he requested it.

"Going to nap?" She asked. "I know you didn't sleep much."

Chakotay shook his head.

"I've got some—spirits—that I need to talk to," Chakotay said.

Kathryn nodded her head.

"I've got control," she assured him. "We'll be here when you get back."

"Thank you," Chakotay said.

"Tell—your father hello for me?" Kathryn asked.

Chakotay smiled to himself.

"I'll certainly try," Chakotay said. "He'll be happy to hear about his grandchildren."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here.**

**I'm blown away by the reaction to this story. I'm so glad that you like it! I'm sorry for not responding to everyone. I often have to choose between responding and writing another chapter, so I try to give you a chapter if you want it. Please know that I read every comment/review, though, time and time again. Thank you all so much! You're the reason I write!**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter! Let me know what you think! **

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Kathryn sat in the chair as she'd been directed to do—chest bare and unembarrassed by her exposure since the privacy curtain hid her from the view of everyone that wasn't medical personnel or the father of her children—and accepted their fourth little one into her arms. He happened to be the smallest of their four little ones. Chakotay wasn't sure if his size was due to the fact that he'd been left behind, or if he'd been the smallest to begin with. Kes eased the tiny baby into Kathryn's arms and Kathryn immediately hugged him to her chest.

Chakotay stood to the side just enough that he could see what was happening, but he wouldn't be in anyone's way until things were settled and they were sure that the baby was stable. There would be plenty of time for him to examine their little one when he'd had the chance to feed and start on the road toward building his strength.

Kathryn looked beautiful. She was absolutely radiant, and the expression on her face when she accepted the baby into her arms nearly took Chakotay's breath away. He didn't tell her—this time—when the thought crossed his mind, but he did notice that she was absolutely beautiful. Motherhood suited her far better than Chakotay might have ever even imagined.

They hadn't made too much room in their relationship to discuss parenting up to this point. Mostly they had spent their time discussing their looming and ever-present chaperone: Starfleet.

In the Alpha Quadrant, there would have been time off. There would have been leave and breaks and other assignments. They would have filled their free time with the love that they had found, and they would have been openly accepted as a couple who went about things in the expected and acceptable manner.

They weren't allowed such luxury on Voyager, especially not while they were lost in the Delta Quadrant.

Their relationship had been a secret that they'd struggled to keep so far. What would the crew say if they found out that their captain and her first officer were romantically involved? What would they say if they knew that it went far beyond simply offering one another comfort? What would they say if they knew that all of this was happening in stolen moments when they both had a break from duty? Was such a thing even allowed?

Starfleet had no explicit rules on such conduct, but it was pretty easy to imagine that they would frown on the relationship. Fraternizing was frowned upon, and this probably went a great deal beyond what they would simply term as fraternizing.

Ironically, Starfleet would probably not know for a great deal of time about their relationship. The entire crew knew now—and it was the talk of the ship, especially since there was little to talk about when the skies were clear. The crew, whose reactions they were so worried about, had, so far, only responded with support and positivity.

The crew's greatest concern, it seemed, was when they would be allowed to see the little ones for themselves.

In the little they'd discussed of a life where they might have more than some clandestine love affair, Chakotay had admitted that he hadn't devoted a great deal of his life to thinking about fatherhood, but he was certain that he wouldn't mind fatherhood if Kathryn were to be the mother of his children.

He hadn't exactly imagined, however, that it would come to pass so quickly. He certainly hadn't imagined that he would unexpectedly, and very suddenly, be the father to four tiny babies.

If someone had told him this would happen, he might have had a heart attack. He might have even panicked, and he might have said or done something he would regret. He might have told Kathryn that he wasn't the man to do this and he couldn't handle it before he'd even given it a chance.

But seeing her holding the fourth of his children—knowing the other three were well taken care of at the moment and already quite happy babies—and feeling the swelling feeling of love in his chest, Chakotay was glad that fate had saved him from himself. It had all happened so quickly that he hadn't had the chance to run out fueled by fear. It had happened in just the right way to push him immediately into something that he might have failed to realize that he wanted.

"Do you need some help, Captain?" Kes asked. "His muscles are a little under-developed. You might have to help him. Massage his cheeks. Once he's gotten used to it, he'll start building up his strength. He hasn't fed as much as the others."

"I think he's got it," Kathryn said, doing her best to follow the instructions of the Ocampa who had been taking a crash course in caring for infants. Thankfully she was a quick study and hadn't complained at all about pouring over everything their medical library had to offer so that she could be of assistance to her captain-turned-instant-mother-of-four. "Oh—he's got it. Look—he's eating. He's so serious! Chakotay!"

That was the first moment that Kathryn sought Chakotay. She looked around for him and her eyes landed on him. She smiled at him. Her smile was radiant. She waved him over.

"Chakotay—look...look at him," Kathryn said.

Chakotay swallowed. The very look in her eyes made his throat tighten. He eased closer to her and Kes moved—offering Chakotay a smile—to make room for him to get close to Kathryn. He leaned down to look at their smallest son—Belan, their little warrior, though they hadn't shared his name with anyone yet—and then he brushed his lips quickly against Kathryn's cheek.

"He's perfect," Chakotay said, whispering the words just at Kathryn's ear.

She smiled to herself. She dared to move a little and brushed a finger against his cheek as the little one fed. Though Kes had worried that he wouldn't be able to suck, it seemed his muscles were developed enough to allow him to make the movement. He wasn't able to do it very quickly, but Chakotay already knew that Kathryn had enough patience to feed him all day if that's what he required to build up his strength.

"What's his prognosis, Doctor?" Kathryn asked as soon as the EMH reappeared from his brief disappearance into the other part of sickbay where he was dealing with another crew member's minor injury.

"It's difficult to tell at the moment," the doctor said. He produced his tricorder and scanned the infant even as he fed. "The DNA transformation was a success. He is weak, however, and his vitals are somewhat erratic."

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Chakotay asked.

"It took a while for the vitals of the other infants to stabilize," the doctor said. "I'm hopeful that his will stabilize, as well, with a little time. For the time being, there's really nothing that anyone can do. We must, as it is said, let nature take its course."

"There has to be something we can do," Kathryn said. "Something to make sure that—that..."

"That he gets stronger," Chakotay supplied, feeling that Kathryn was caught between what she wanted to say and what she felt was a reasonable demand to make of an Emergency Medical Hologram.

"What you are doing is the best that can be done for him at this time. Biology is incredible. The captain's body will detect what the baby needs, and it will adjust to help her milk supply him with what he needs."

"It's more accurate than anything we can prepare for him," Kes offered with some excitement.

"Though we'll do our best to monitor his needs and meet them," the doctor said.

"Can we take him back to our quarters?" Kathryn asked. "He's probably lonely."

"Soon," the doctor said. "Tomorrow, perhaps. I'd like to keep him tonight for observation. If his vitals stabilize, I don't see any reason that you can't take him with you to spend time with him while you all recover from your adventure."

"Assuming he survives," Kathryn said, "because—I need to believe that he will—will he suffer any lasting effects?"

"We won't be certain about all the effects until he's older," the doctor said. "At the moment, his vision and hearing are testing as normal. His scans are coming back normal. He has low muscle tone and body weight. Other than that, I'm afraid that only time will tell."

Kathryn lovingly stroked the cheek of the baby who was taking his precious time with his meal.

"One more question," Kathryn said.

"Certainly," the doctor responded. "Ask as many as you like." He pressed a hypospray to her neck. He answered her question about the hypospray before her lips had the opportunity to say what her eyes immediately asked. "Just to help you keep up your strength, Captain. You will need to eat soon. You can't expect to keep putting out energy and producing milk if you don't take in the nutrients that your body needs."

"I'll eat," Kathryn said. "But—should I stay with him? Can I stay with him?"

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"It's better," Chakotay said. "You need to rest and he needs to rest. You'll be called back any time now to feed. You're still checking on him all night. The only difference is that you get to sleep in your own bed instead of trying to get some rest in a biobed."

Chakotay kissed Kathryn and somewhat pushed her back to urge her to lie down completely in the bed. It was late, or early depending on perspective, and formula and a little tag-team pacing around their quarters meant that their three at-home little ones were finally all asleep, at the same time, for at least a few minutes.

Having them all sleeping, though, and not demanding her attention meant that Kathryn was free to turn her concern over to Belan and the fact that the doctor had insisted that she go and try to get some sleep instead of keeping guard all night in sickbay.

Because they were working to build up his strength, Kathryn was already feeding Belan nearly every hour. At best, and if Chakotay was able to handle the other three without her, she was sleeping in half hour shifts.

It was going to be a long night, in more ways than one, and Chakotay was desperately hoping that their little boy was strong enough to come home the following day. He'd rather they were all in the same place, and he knew that Kathryn wouldn't truly rest until she could keep watch over all of them at once.

"Tomorrow's a big day," Chakotay offered. He lie down beside Kathryn and rubbed her arm with his hand, attempting to soothe her a little. "Belan will probably be ready to come home. He'll be ready to see his siblings again—to meet them all for the first time in this form. We can finally tell Tom and B'Elanna what his name is, and he can stop being Baby Four. We can start introducing him to everyone, and we can start talking about how we want to introduce our little ones to the entire crew."

Kathryn smiled to herself just at the mention of introducing the babies to the crew. Chakotay had a good feeling that letting everyone—and not just their closest friends onboard the ship—share them would go a long way to really making everything real and official for Kathryn who had mentioned, more than once, that the whole thing still felt like some kind of very bizarre dream.

"We can gather everyone together in the mess hall," Kathryn said. "A sort of—welcome party."

"We can do whatever you want," Chakotay assured her.

"We should tell Tom and B'Elanna tomorrow, though," Kathryn said. "About Belan. About his name."

"We will," Chakotay said.

"We should tell them privately. Let them—let them know without everyone around. Let them respond to it without an audience."

"We'll invite them for breakfast, if you want," Chakotay said.

"Lunch," Kathryn said. "Maybe—hopefully—the doctor will let us bring him home by then."

Chakotay smiled to himself.

"What?" Kathryn asked, starting to sit up a little from where she'd very nearly been drifting off to sleep. Chakotay quickly urged her to get comfortable again and stroked her cheek lightly with his fingers.

"It was just the way you said home," Chakotay said. "I liked the sound of it."

"I guess—quarters are as much a private home as we have these days," Kathryn said.

Chakotay nodded his agreement.

"I just like the sound of it," Chakotay said. "Home. You and me and...all four of our little ones."

"It does sound nice, doesn't it?" Kathryn mused.

"Very," Chakotay agreed. "And shared quarters in the Delta Quadrant or a sprawling estate in the Alpha Quadrant, it doesn't matter to me where it is. Not as long as you're there and—we're all together. Get some sleep, Kathryn. We've got a big day tomorrow, and you've probably only got about twenty minutes left to sleep."

Almost immediately, Kathryn's combadge chirped.

"Janeway, here," Kathryn said, rolling to tap the badge where she'd left it resting beside her.

"Captain—your presence is needed in sickbay," the doctor said.

"Is something wrong?" Kathryn asked.

"I would report that all is fine," the doctor said. "Baby Four, however, would disagree. It's time to feed again."

Kathryn laughed to herself.

"I'm on my way," she assured him. "Janeway out." She groaned and then laughed quietly to herself. She smiled at Chakotay, offering him the teasing smile that he always found irresistible. "A little less than twenty," she said. "Keep my side of the bed warm?"

"As long as they'll let me," Chakotay assured her. "It's just about time for me to do another tour of our quarters."

"Our home," Kathryn reminded him, leaning over to peck his lips.

"Our home," he agreed. "Hurry home."

He winked at her and Kathryn smiled at him before she slipped out of bed and worked her way back into the civilian clothing that she was wearing to run back and forth between their quarters and sickbay to meet Belan's needs. Chakotay waited until she was gone and then he closed his eyes, fully intending to steal what little bit of sleep the other three would allow him before his next shift of being Daddy.


	11. Chapter 11

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here to move us along and set some things up.**

**I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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Chakotay set the table for breakfast and replicated the meal as Kathryn requested. She was certain that her replicator held a grudge against her, and she wanted the meal to be nice for B'Elanna and Tom. While he'd done what she'd asked of him, she'd taken her time changing, dressing, and feeding their little ones—one at a time—to make sure that they were all as prepared as they could be for at least the first few minutes of breakfast. They wouldn't last too far beyond that before someone discovered a newly arising need.

With Belan's arrival to their quarters in the earliest hours of the morning, after the doctor cleared him post-feeding, to see how he adapted, Kathryn's mood had soared. Chakotay knew that she was exhausted, but she didn't seem to let it bother her. While she'd nursed babies and supplemented their feeding with bottles, she'd replicated things she needed to add the care of one more little one to the work she was already learning to handle quite well.

Now that they were waiting on B'Elanna and Tom, Kathryn was roaming back and forth between their bedroom and the living space with items that she needed to move. The swings, they'd discovered, were practically priceless to them and Belan already had one to call his own.

As swings were moved into place, content babies were buckled in and cranks were turned. The first in place was Lizzie and Kathryn spent several moments rearranging the long-armed stuffed monkey which, wrapped around her and pushed snuggly into her swing, tricked her into believing that she'd been passed from her mother's loving arms to the equally supportive and caring arms of some furry loved one. Phoebe came immediately after her sister and was buckled in with much less fussiness.

"Would you like my help, Kathryn?" Chakotay asked, following her back toward the bedroom when she went to get the last of their children from their beds—a temporary fix for a problem that was going to require a much greater solution.

"They'll be here any minute," Kathryn said.

"And breakfast is ready," Chakotay said. He reached and took Kol from her the moment that she lifted the infant from the bassinet. "Get Belan."

Kathryn didn't need to be told twice. She eased up the baby that was sleeping peacefully—probably from his own form of exhaustion—and followed Chakotay back toward the living area. Chakotay quickly found pacifiers, which they were already learning were wonderful helpers with their little ones, and bucked Kol into his swing. Immediately he offered his son the pacifier and watched as Kathryn buckled the last baby into his swing.

"He looks so tiny in there," Kathryn said.

"He looks so tiny anywhere," Chakotay said. "He was clearly the runt."

Kathryn frowned at him. The frown extended to every single inch of her facial features.

"They're not animals," Kathryn said. "I didn't have a litter."

Chakotay glanced at the swings—all lined up in a row—and back at Kathryn.

"Humans are animals—no matter their current form. I think we were reminded of that as soon as we saw your amphibious state. And a litter is a group of animals born at the same time. If you consider that, and you consider that there are four of them, not only did you have a litter, but it's a rather impressive litter."

Kathryn furrowed her brows a little more, but her frown softened.

"He wasn't the runt. Do you think he was the runt?"

"His weight is very low, Kathryn," Chakotay said. "That's why you're on strict orders to feed him any time he'll take anything at all."

"But it's because we left him," Kathryn said. "He was starving to death. He was hiding in the nest to stay safe. Just—hoping I was coming back for him."

"Or was he in the nest because you put him deep in there to keep him safe because he was the runt from the beginning?" Chakotay asked. "Maybe he never came out because he was weak even then and there."

Kathryn's only response was to step forward and somewhat rescue the sleeping baby from his swing—which didn't bother him in the slightest—and from the accusation that he had been a runt and had been buried deep in the sand by his mother who wished to protect him however she could.

She didn't realize that her instinctive move to protect him now and cover him from the impact of words he couldn't even understand only strengthened Chakotay's thoughts that he might be right.

"It doesn't matter," Chakotay offered. "He's already gained an ounce and he'll keep growing. Litters and runts—none of it matters now. It doesn't even matter why he was in the very bottom of the nest. All that matters is what happens from here out."

Kathryn had taken the baby to the couch and, since he'd woken in the short trip, she was already seated and nursing him, coaxing him to take even a small swallow of milk if he could be convinced to do so.

"He's living up to his name," Kathryn said. "Don't pick on him because he's small."

Chakotay laughed to himself. He walked over to where she was and she glared at him. He knew, well, the difference between a sincere glare and a teasing glare, though, and it didn't take long before her hard expression melted into a smile. Chakotay caught her chin and tipped her face upward before he bent down to press his lips to hers.

"I wouldn't pick on him," he assured her. "I wouldn't pick on any of them. They're all perfect, and they're all growing."

The door buzzed at almost the exact second that Chakotay straightened up.

"You better help them get settled until I can finish here," Kathryn said. "Do you think you could hand me that blanket?"

Chakotay handed Kathryn the blanket that she gestured toward so that she could cover herself and their son while he considered how much he might want to eat before his mother was even allowed to think about her own breakfast.

"Come in," Chakotay commanded. The computer opened the door to reveal both Tom and B'Elanna standing there. They both looked a little awkward. It wasn't every day that they were invited to Kathryn's quarters for breakfast. Chakotay smiled and waved them into the room. "We're so glad you could join us."

"We talked about it," B'Elanna said, "and we both agreed that we would have brought something, but we weren't sure what to bring."

"Champagne doesn't exactly go with breakfast and replicating a carton of milk seemed…" Tom continued.

"Odd," B'Elanna offered when Tom broke off.

"We told you not to bring anything because we didn't want you to bring anything," Chakotay said. "Won't you sit?" They accepted the invitation to sit, though somewhat rigidly. They still weren't certain why they'd been invited, but they would discover that in time. Chakotay walked over to the three babies rocking in swings—all of them in various stages of wakefulness. "You've both had the opportunity to briefly meet our little ones. To remind you, this is Lizzie and this is Phoebe. Over here is Kol."

"I don't know how you can tell them apart," Tom commented. "They look exactly alike."

"They're really quite different," Kathryn said, standing up from her spot on the couch. She'd already readjusted the outfit she was wearing—something nursing-friendly and not at all Starfleet issued for the time being, and she was carrying Belan who was, for the moment, awake and clearly immensely satisfied.

Neither Tom nor B'Elanna had spoken to her when they'd come through the door, and Chakotay was wondering if they'd just now noticed her presence. They were, perhaps, too overwhelmed to pick up on everything. They both stood when they saw her. She laughed to herself.

"At ease," she teased. "This is an informal breakfast. Nobody's on duty. In fact—Tom are you still on medical leave?"

"One more day," Tom said.

"Then so am I," Kathryn said.

Chakotay cleared his throat.

"I believe you have a few more days than Tom before the doctor allows you to be fully reinstated," Chakotay offered. Kathryn flicked her eyes in his direction—something like a silent warning—but she didn't respond. Chakotay knew that she was itching to be back on the bridge as soon as possible—four babies in tow if that's what it meant to be back in the captain's chair.

"My point is that we're not all back on the bridge yet, and we can all be casual and relaxed," Kathryn said.

Tom and B'Elanna accepted Kathryn's suggestion that they should sit, and this time they relaxed a little more into their seats than they had before. Kathryn approached them with Belan in her arms.

"I don't want your food to get cold," Kathryn said, "but I did want the opportunity to introduce you to our fourth little one."

She showed the baby to B'Elanna first, since she was closest, to get her approval. Kathryn withheld his name, but nobody seemed to notice. B'Elanna smiled over the little one and reached her hand up to stroke the top of his hand with her finger. She didn't say anything, but Kathryn didn't demand any words at the moment. She then showed the baby to Tom who nodded approvingly.

"He's tiny," Tom said as Kathryn took Belan to his swing to see how long he'd be content to rock with his siblings.

"They all are," B'Elanna offered.

"Individually, they're small," Chakotay said. "But if you consider the fact that—despite how brief the gestation might have been to us—Kathryn carried them to full term at once, they're not that small."

"They need to gain weight," Kathryn said. "But we're working on that with frequent feedings."

"How will you handle that when you go back to the bridge?" Tom asked.

"I can take nursing breaks," Kathryn said.

Chakotay laughed to himself. He pulled Kathryn's chair out for her and slid it in without much pomp and circumstance once she sat. He sat beside her.

"If she needs to, she'll feed on the bridge," Chakotay said. "There's no rule against a mother feeding her young in Starfleet."

"I didn't mean to suggest that," Tom said. "It's just…"

"Nobody's ever had a captain who was navigating the earliest stages of motherhood with four young children," Kathryn supplied. "But I suppose I'll manage."

"Of course you will," B'Elanna offered.

At Chakotay's silent urging, plates were being filled from the platters of Earth-offered breakfast food that he'd replicated and everyone was starting to eat before the replicated food was allowed to cool too much.

"Of course she will," Chakotay echoed. "And you won't do it all alone."

Kathryn didn't say anything, but she did reach a hand over and touch his arm. Especially since their relationship was very newly out in the open, it was a grand gesture. They were still testing the waters to see how affectionate they were comfortable being in the company of others. The agreement, so far, was that they would greatly limit their affections on the bridge, but they still hadn't reached an agreement about what was fine when they were off-duty. They were still testing the proverbial waters. Chakotay reached over and placed his hand over hers, rubbing her fingers for a moment before he released her.

"We'll all be here to help," B'Elanna offered. "We're just glad you—found all of them."

"And that you realized they weren't mine," Tom offered with a laugh. "I'm kidding. But—not really."

"They're not yours," Kathryn said lightly.

"Absolutely not," B'Elanna said. "To be honest Captain, I'm not even sure they're yours. But they're definitely Chakotay's."

Chakotay cleared his throat. He was already aware that Kathryn was struggling, just a little, with the fact that their offspring seemed to have inherited most of their already-distinguishable characteristics from him. He was more than a little anxious to change the subject.

"We're ready to introduce them to the crew," Chakotay said. "The doctor said it's safe. We started talking about ways to move them around easily, though, and, later, to keep them on the bridge. We thought, B'Elanna, that you might have some ideas for us."

"We could easily design something," B'Elanna said.

"We would appreciate if you would," Kathryn said. "To be honest, I'm sure that we could come up with something together, but we're too tired to think of anything."

"New parents," Tom said, clearly pleased at the thought.

"We're getting used to it," Chakotay said. "We're going to have to extend our quarters—design quarters for the little ones. We've got a lot on our plates."

"But we're taking it one day at a time," Kathryn said. "One thing at a time."

"And you don't have to solve everything today," B'Elanna said. "They look—happy. Like they've got everything they need. It looks like you've taken care of everything urgent."

"B'Elanna's right," Tom offered. "The rest of it will fall into place."

"You're right. And I guess it's time to tell you why we invited the two of you here personally," Kathryn said. "It wasn't just to remind you, Tom, that you're off the hook as the father or to ask you, B'Elanna, for your engineering expertise in designing ways to make our lives easier as we navigate being new parents to four little ones. Our main reason for inviting the two of you here was to say thank you."

"Thank you?" Tom asked.

"What do you mean, Captain?" B'Elanna asked.

"Please," Kathryn said, "Kathryn. We're not on duty and we're having breakfast as friends." She got a nod from each of the people across the table and Chakotay let her have the chance to share their news with them. When Phoebe woke suddenly and started to whimper—a precursor to actually fussing—Chakotay got up without saying anything, rescued the infant from her swing, and went straight to the replicator to replicate a bottle. Though Kathryn could feed her, she'd need to supplement her intake at any rate, and Chakotay could satisfy her for a bit before Kathryn took over. "We heard that the two of you were leading the campaign to give us the opportunity to go back to the planet. Without your persuasion, we might have never known that we left our son behind. We might have never gone back to get him."

"I think I can speak for us both when I say that there's no thanks needed," B'Elanna said. "We're just happy that he's alive and—is he doing well?"

"Very well," Kathryn said. "He needs to put on weight and build his strength, but…"

"He's quite the fighter," Chakotay offered, sitting down with Phoebe in his arms, sleepily sucking at her bottle.

Kathryn smiled at him and he caught her eyebrow quickly raising with her thoughts. She was offering him the opportunity to keep talking. She was offering him the chance to tell them about Belan's name and to ask them what they wanted to ask. She relaxed her features, though, when she realized that he wasn't going to say anything more. He fully intended to give this to her.

"He's a fighter," Kathryn said. "And for that—we've decided to name him Belan. It means warrior. It also—pays homage to a person that helped fight for him. Someone that—I hope—will continue to be an important person in his life. B'Elanna…I wanted to ask you if you'd be Belan's godmother."

B'Elanna looked at Kathryn and then looked at Chakotay. She was so clearly surprised that she looked almost terrified. Her fork was suspended in mid-air on the way to her mouth. She put it down rather than try to go through the motions of eating at the moment.

"I don't know what to say," she said. "I'm—flattered. Of course,…I'll help in whatever way I can."

"That's not all," Kathryn said, as soon as Tom turned to somewhat awkwardly congratulate B'Elanna for the honor. "His middle name is Thomas. To pay homage to someone else who made sure that he made it home. And, perhaps, had his own hand in making sure that he existed at all."

"I'm honored," Tom said. He cleared his throat. "But we agreed they're all Chakotay's, so I don't see what part I played in his existence."

"If you hadn't taken Kathryn to warp 10," Chakotay offered, "then we would have had twins. Two of our little ones may have never come to be. Who's to say which is the original and which is the copy?"

Kathryn cleared her throat.

"For my benefit, and theirs, let's agree that nobody is ever to refer to the babies in that manner again?"

"My apologies," Chakotay said. He leaned toward her and she brushed her hand over his leg, under the table, to indicate that she wasn't upset. It was true what he'd said, it just wasn't terribly nice to say.

"At any rate," Kathryn said, "I'm not accusing you of being the father. I am asking you, though, to be Belan's godfather."

"Captain…"

"Kathryn."

"Kathryn," Tom said, obviously with the word sticking in his throat. "I expected to be—demoted for the whole…kidnapping the captain thing."

"It can be arranged if you're disappointed," Kathryn offered.

Tom laughed to himself.

"I'm honored," he said.

"So you accept?" Kathryn asked.

"Of course," Tom said.

"Good," Chakotay said. "Then as long as we've got godparents onboard for Belan, we can start talking about ways to make life with four little ones easier.

"I've already got some ideas," B'Elanna offered. "But I would like the chance to sort of play around with a few of them."

"Take all the time you need," Kathryn said.

"But hurry," Chakotay said with a laugh. "I already know that I won't be able to keep Kathryn off the bridge and practically confined to quarters for long, and we're going to need some more practical ways of handling them all at once."

B'Elanna laughed.

"I'll probably have something by this evening—some ideas at least. Maybe even a prototype by tomorrow morning."

"Perfect," Kathryn said. "That'll mean that I rest just long enough to make Chakotay and the EMH happy."

"Maybe just a bit longer," Chakotay said. "But we can negotiate that. For now, let's talk about—other things. Anything. I'm afraid that—we've been a little consumed with babies for the past few days."

"I don't think anyone would expect anything different. But— if you don't mind my asking," Tom said, "if B'Elanna and I are godparents for Belan, who are the godparents for the other three?"

Kathryn smiled.

"Everyone will hear about that at the party this evening when they get to meet the little ones."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. **

**I am making this announcement on all my fics. I should let you all know that in a week, I'll be starting a class for work that will occupy almost every waking moment of my time for two weeks. Please pass it on if anyone should wonder where I've gone during that time. I won't have run away; I'll simply be working. This goes for Roots and Wings Part Two for those that are reading that, as well. I'll post it on Chapter 3 if I get the chance to load it before I'm too busy, but if I don't, please know what's going on! **

**I hope you enjoy the chapter! Let me know what you think! **

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With the help of Belan's newly appointed godparents, Kathryn and Chakotay were able to move their four little ones, with relative ease, to the mess hall where Neelix had prepared for everyone to gather, celebrate, and eat. The invitations for those to whom they wished to speak in private had been sent out without any pomp and circumstance so that they wouldn't draw the attention of those who weren't part of the special invitation. Senior officers, and therefore those closest to both the captain and her first officer, were asked to come early. Kathryn was almost certain that they didn't know the reason for the request.

Swings were lined up and babies were buckled in—except for Lizzie, who had decided that she was having nothing of the swing. She wasn't going to be tucked away when there were arms to hold her and she was determined that she was practically starved for attention. Luckily for Lizzie, she already had her Daddy wrapped firmly around her little finger, and she was able to convince him that he wanted to spend his time holding her as he waited on her honorary family members to come and meet her.

"The food and drinks have all been put out, Captain," Neelix said. "There's more in the back if we run out, but I think there's more than enough to get everyone started."

"And now you'll sit down," Kathryn said, "and relax."

"You know how difficult Neelix finds it to relax sometimes," Kes teased. Both she and Neelix had received the special invites to come to the mess hall a half hour before anyone else, but it was likely that they both assumed their presence there was practical. Both of them had already spent a little time with the babies, they were helping set up for the gathering, and they could help with the four little ones if assistance was necessary.

Neelix was just settling down into a chair, spouting off some story about a dish that he'd researched and served for the special occasion, when the doors hissed open to allow Harry and Tuvok to enter.

"At ease," Kathryn offered, when Harry started to salute her. The others seemed to understand that this was informal, but Harry could still be nervous at times. "Everyone—I guess there's no need to drag this out. We wanted to meet with all of you before everyone else got here to start meeting the babies. You've already had the opportunity to meet our little ones—perhaps with the exception of Belan because of his situation—but we'll introduce you to them again."

Chakotay, who was already on his feet, made a quick tour of the swings, pointing out the babies as he called them by name.

"That's Phoebe and Kol and Belan," he said. "And this," he gestured the baby girl who was very content in his arms, "is Lizzie."

"I guess you're wondering why we wanted you to be here," Kathryn said. "We were talking about who should be the godparents to the babies. We're all—well, we're all used to being in the service of the ship, even if you weren't originally part of Starfleet. You know, as well as I do, that being Starfleet officers—and even just working on a ship—comes with no small amount of risks and dangers. We couldn't leave our babies without godparents in the even that something should happen to us…"

"But at the same time," Chakotay said, "we know that finding ourselves to suddenly be the parents of four little ones is a bit of a shock. We didn't think that any one person, or even two people, would be ready for that kind of shock."

"Even if they could be ready," Kathryn said, "and adjust—because we're certainly working to adjust to our situation—we didn't want to put that on anyone. Still, we know that it takes a village to raise a child. And we know that we've found family and community here on Voyager that we never would have imagined before we were all brought together by the Caretaker. So, we thought it would be best if we counted on that village to help us in the chance that something should happen and our babies were left needing someone in our absence."

"We named Tom and B'Elanna as Belan's godparents," Chakotay said. "Neelix and Kes—we were hoping that you might be the godparents of Phoebe." He smiled. "She's sweet, and often sleepy, and easy going. I imagine that she'll find you both fascinating."

Neelix and Kes looked genuinely shocked. At the moment, they sat side by side and Kes held Neelix's hand. When Chakotay made his announcement, they both looked at each other. Then they looked at Kathryn and back at Chakotay.

"If you don't want the position," Kathryn offered.

"No! We're honored, Captain," Neelix said. "At least—I can't speak for Kes, but I'm certainly honored. I would do anything to help you with your little ones. All of them. And if I can be of service as their godfather—well…then I'll be the best godfather that it's in my power to be."

Kes smiled warmly. Her shock melted away when she watched Neelix stammer through his acceptance speech with the same pride as someone accepting a major award.

"Neelix would be a wonderful godfather," Kes said. "And I would be honored to be Phoebe's godmother. I would hope that neither of us ever has a reason to do more than to temporarily help take care of the babies—all of them, but…we can be counted on if such a thing should become necessary."

"Wonderful," Kathryn said. "Tuvok—you have understood me probably better than anyone has until Chakotay. And I've trusted you with my life. It feels right that I should trust you with one of my children—I know how good you are with your own. T'Pel isn't here, but when we get home…"

"She will be happy to share in the role of godparent," Tuvok offered. "I accept, Captain. I am pleased that you would choose me for such an honor."

"We thought you might be the godfather of Lizzie," Chakotay said.

"Chakotay says she's a great deal like me," Kathryn said. "Though I don't know how much we can really tell at this point."

"I can tell everything I need to know," Chakotay offered with a laugh.

"Am I to assume, then, that she would benefit greatly from some of the Vulcan lessons of controlling her emotions?" Tuvok asked.

Kathryn didn't try to hide her smile. She was used to Tuvok and she realized, probably better than most of them, that the Vulcan had a wicked sense of humor. Where everyone else went wrong was in assuming that Vulcan's would express their sense of humor in the same way that humans and many other species did.

"Are you suggesting that I need some lessons in controlling my emotions?" Kathryn asked.

Tuvok showed no signs of smiling or laughing. Still, Kathryn could practically feel the mood radiating out from him. She sometimes wondered if, since he'd mind melded with her in the past, he was able to telepathically send her messages of his well-controlled emotions.

"I would never suggest such a thing, Captain," Tuvok said. "Because I know that you would not listen."

His words, dead-panned in their delivery, finally drew some laughter from those gathered as they realized he was teasing with Kathryn.

Chakotay, to try and help things along since everyone needed to become acquainted with the babies, passed Lizzie over to Tuvok. Even though it might seem reasonable that someone as controlled and stiff as the Vulcan might have difficulty with babies, Kathryn had seen Tuvok with his own children. He was a good father and, as soon as he accepted Lizzie into his arms, it was clear that he was going to be a good godfather. Lizzie, for her part, certainly seemed to approve.

Chakotay took Phoebe from her swing and gently placed her in Kes's arms. Neelix looked on over Kes's shoulder, and it was clear that the two of them would dote on the little girl—and all the others as well—as often as they were given the chance. Immediately Kathryn could see that they were every bit as smitten with her as Kathryn and Chakotay felt.

Chakotay took Belan, then, and passed him to B'Elanna. For all the protests and apologies that she'd made throughout the day about how her Klingon DNA would probably keep her from being a truly desirable godmother, the way that she looked at the little boy made it evident that she gave herself too little credit. Tom beamed, looking more like the proud father he was almost believed to have been than a godfather, and B'Elanna gently swayed the baby that had made no effort to fuss about his new position in her arms.

Finally, Chakotay unbuckled Kol and rescued him from the swing. From where she sat, Kathryn could see the concerned expression on the baby's face. There were a lot of people around, and there was a great deal going on. Kol, she knew already, liked a moment to adjust to any change. Chakotay knew that, too, and he produced one of the pacifiers that Kol seemed to regard as practically magical. Just as Lizzie's long-armed monkey could soothe most of her distressed feelings over not being held at all possible times, the pacifiers seemed to soothe a great deal of Kol's concerns about the world around him. He accepted it when it was offered, and slowly he relaxed to be less rigid in his father's arms. To further his calming, Chakotay swayed him gently as he turned to face Harry.

Harry glanced at Chakotay and back at Kathryn before he repeated the movement with his eyes at least two more times. It looked like he was having difficulty swallowing. He shook his head at Kathryn before she even spoke.

"I don't know much about babies," Harry said.

"But you like them?" Kathryn asked.

"I do," Harry said. "I like children, I mean. I haven't spent much time around babies."

"Then you'll have a lot to learn," Kathryn said. "We have a lot to learn, too. Maybe we can all learn together, Harry. Unless—you don't want to be the godfather. It's completely understandable if you don't. And I promise you that we won't hold it against you."

"I could be the godfather," Tom said. "B'Elanna—if she wants—could be the godmother. We could handle two if we needed to, Captain."

"I can handle it," Harry said. "Just…I don't know if I could do it alone…"

"I think that's the point," Kes offered. "If you'll forgive me, Captain, for putting words in your mouth. I think that's the whole point that the captain and the commander were trying to make. Nobody can do this alone. Not even them. They need us and—we all need each other."

"That's exactly the point that we're trying to make," Kathryn said. "I would hope that—if something were to happen to Chakotay and I—that you would raise the children together. I would hope that you would all draw together."

"It takes a village," Chakotay said. "That's not an unusual concept in most cultures. It's especially true here on Voyager. We've been forced to draw together as a village—Maquis and Starfleet, and even Ocampa and Talaxian, alike. As we continue this journey, there will likely be more children and more families. It's never going to stop being true, though, that we'll need each other. What do you say, Harry? Will you be Kol's godfather?"

"I'm—I'm honored," Harry stammered. "I'll—I'll give it my best."

Chakotay placed the baby in Harry's arms. Just as he did, Kol whined a little about the change and Kathryn laughed to herself.

"If it makes you feel better, Harry," Kathryn said, "Kol is always a little unsure about things, too. But so far, we haven't led him astray. He's liked everything he wasn't sure about in the beginning. Maybe you'll like being his godfather, too."

Harry smiled sincerely and held the baby a little more confidently. Kol seemed to appreciate that and relaxed a bit more.

"I'm sure I will," Harry said.

"Wonderful," Chakotay said. "We're thankful to all of you for your promise made here tonight. We're thankful that we can rest easy knowing—knowing we can count on all of you if we need you. Our little ones will be taken care of if something were to happen to the both of us."

"And we're thankful to have your support even now," Kathryn said. "We know that raising four little ones is going to be a challenge, but it's a challenge that we're excited to face together."

"Please don't go anywhere, though," Chakotay said. "The celebration is just getting started and we want you to stay and—enjoy the food and the drinks and…we just want you to stay and celebrate with us. Get to know our little ones. Our little family and…your new family."


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: Here we are, another chapter here. **

**I hope you enjoy! Let me know what you think! **

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"It was really partly Neelix's idea," B'Elanna admitted.

Chakotay laughed to himself and readjusted Lizzie in his arms. He knew how difficult it must be for B'Elanna to admit that she'd taken advice from Neelix, but she'd pulled out all the stops to create the invention that she was presenting to Kathryn.

B'Elanna had suggested her invention would take a few hours. In reality, the plans for it had taken a few hours. The revisions to those plans had taken a few more. The prototype had followed shortly after, and the polished version of that prototype was now ready—a few days after Kathryn requested that B'Elanna start creating something—for the captain's inspection.

B'Elanna, Tom, and Harry had all crowded into their quarters to give Kathryn the contraption.

"He came up with the basic structure," B'Elanna said. "I just perfected it. I took into consideration the various needs that you would have, and I altered his original idea to make it safe and reliable."

"I wanted to call it a baby buggy," Harry offered.

"I said the baby train," Tom said. "Get it? There used to be an old Earth saying—the gravy train. But this is the baby train."

Chakotay laughed to himself. B'Elanna looked at both of the men like she'd been stuck with them for a long time, but they were little more than annoying thorns in her side. Kathryn ignored them entirely as she circled the invention—baby buggy or baby train as they may call it—with Belan held securely in her arms.

"While these two were fighting over names," B'Elanna said, "I was working on making sure that it would be easy to use and it would serve its purpose."

"Is it safe?" Kathryn asked.

"Absolutely safe," B'Elanna assured her. "I wouldn't put the little ones in it if it weren't. Believe me. See? Each of these individual seats is structurally sound and they come equipped with seatbelts—safety harnesses. They're even more secure than the swings. I alternated the directions they're facing so that the babies can see each other. Everything that Kes has read suggested that babies born in multiples sometimes have separation anxiety. They have a difficult time adjusting to independence and being alone. In this way, they're able to maintain connection with each other while being securely strapped into their own individual seats. Let me show you some of the features that I worked out."

Kathryn studied the contraption with a furrowed brow. Chakotay stood back with Tom and Harry and took in B'Elanna's presentation. She was every bit as pleased with her baby-mobile as she had been with anything else he'd seen her present for Kathryn's approval.

"The wheels are appropriate for any terrain," B'Elanna said.

"That seems a little unnecessary around Voyager," Kathryn said.

"True," B'Elanna said. "But we don't know what the Delta Quadrant has in store for us and for the little ones. This way, you can transport them anywhere we need to go. If we take a shore leave or decide to explore a planet, they're just as capable of tagging along there as they are when they're headed to the holodecks. The handle is adjustable, so it should be comfortable for both you and Chakotay—neither of you needs to struggle to keep the little ones in tow. The seats are adjustable and removable, so they can be switched out as they babies grow. There's room in each car to allow for larger seats. And the joint connecting the cars bends easily to allow you to maneuver around corners and to make turns without any awkwardness."

"Don't forget about the braces," Tom said. "They keep the train cars from doing a complete jackknife." He demonstrated with his hands the concern that he was addressing. The braces that he mentioned, it seemed, would keep the two cars of what he called the "train" from colliding with each other.

"The stabilizers also keep the baby buggy from tipping," Harry said. "It's perfectly balanced. We tested it, and it would take a great deal of weight on either side to tip the buggy. There won't be any accidental tipping. It would have to be purposeful and intentional."

"And we'd stop anyone who tried to do that before they were able to be successful," B'Elanna offered.

"I don't know," Kathryn mused. She pointed to the joint that had been in discussion. "I don't think I feel comfortable with this."

"It's secure," B'Elanna assured her.

"Without it, you'd never be able to maneuver the thing around the corridors," Harry offered.

"Less likely turn it around if you ever wanted to stop going in one direction," Tom supplied where Harry left off.

"It just feels like two of my children would be just—flying around loose," Kathryn said. Chakotay could hear the worry in her voice. She was a brand-new mother and she'd been thrust into motherhood in possibly the most overwhelming way possible. She had not adjusted entirely to her new role. In addition, her hormones were absolutely going haywire as her body struggled not only to get used to its new old form again, but also to adjust to the fact that she'd gone through a full-term pregnancy and delivery in a whirlwind amount of time.

The only thing that Kathryn seemed to be sure about, at the moment, was that she was greatly fond of nesting with her little ones—which Chakotay imagined might pass with time, but he allowed without hesitation—and that she was fiercely protective of all four of them. She had a definite touch of paranoia that something was lurking around every corner that might strip her of her new, greatly-adored, offspring. Chakotay imagined that her protectiveness might never fully go away, but it would likely dull as she adjusted to motherhood.

"I thought you might say that," B'Elanna said. She beamed. She looked quite satisfied with herself. Something was exchanged between the two women in that instant. There was a moment of connection and B'Elanna seemed excited by it instead of like she wanted to run away from any possible link.

She reached forward and showed Kathryn something with the joint between the two cars.

"Just like that," she said, "you can lock them into place. It's secure. The joint is stable and it won't bend. And you unlock it just as easily. Also, there are similar locks here." She showed Kathryn something on the wheels. "Each wheel has one. When they're in place, the cars won't roll at all. That makes it perfect for the bridge or your ready room. As soon as I've finished installing the cables in both places—which I'll do as soon as I've checked on everything in engineering, you'll be able to connect the cars and it becomes just like a stationary seat for the little ones."

"I suggested actual stationary seats," Harry offered. "In both places. They wouldn't be too difficult to install."

"This is much faster," B'Elanna said. "It wouldn't require you to disturb them, either, in the case that they're sleeping and you don't want to wake them."

"And you're sure that would be safe?" Kathryn asked.

"Once I've installed the cables, this will be every bit as safe as a stationary seat," B'Elanna said. "Besides—if we went with what Harry's suggesting, and I'm not saying it's a bad idea, then we'd have to change the seats out as the little ones grew. That would require replication and construction for the car seats, the bridge seats, and the ready room seats. This way, the adjustment is made in the car seats and it carries over to the other places automatically. We save time and energy while accommodating the needs of our smallest crewmembers."

"But—I'm sorry, am I allowed to say something?" Chakotay asked when his interruption got him looks from both Kathryn and B'Elanna at once. It was an uncomfortable position to be on the receiving end of a stare from both of them at one time.

"Of course," Kathryn said, her expression softening.

"What's wrong?" B'Elanna offered.

"If the babies are buckled into the train or buggy or—whatever we're calling this wagon—and if they're attached to some kind of security device in the ready room or on the bridge, won't two of them be facing the wall?"

Kathryn immediately looked concerned by the suggestion and B'Elanna looked even more pleased than before. Nothing got past the engineer when she was determined to perfect a project that meant a lot to her. It was evident that she'd already thought about this particular possible complaint.

"Because the cars will need to allow for adjustment as the little ones grow," B'Elanna said, the seats are detachable. Just like this—beneath each seat, there's a lever. You flip the lever and you can remove the seat. Likewise, you can turn the seat around, slide it back down into place, and lock it with the lever. You do that with both seats and all the babies are facing the same direction."

"The extra padding on the inside of the seats will help cushion the babies in case of turbulence," Harry offered—clearly highlighting something he must have contributed to the design, "or any other sort of jostling that might come as the result of unpleasant contact with an alien species."

"It looks like you've thought of everything," Kathryn offered, straightening up and clearly stretching her spine a little from the position she'd been in. "Still—when the babies are bigger, they're not going to be happy to be confined to the seats the whole time."

"I'm working on a few more things," B'Elanna said. "I'm also assembling a team to start work on connecting your quarters with the neighboring quarters to give the family more space to spread out."

"But a little at a time," Chakotay said. "Since you've still got other duties."

"Oh," Kathryn said, her cheeks blushing a little pink as she realized that, perhaps, and entirely by accident, she'd been a little less than enthusiastic with her thanks. She reached her hand out and squeezed B'Elanna's arm. "Thank you—and you've done so much. This is far more than I expected for the babies, especially given that you weren't required to do this under orders."

B'Elanna smiled sincerely.

"It was my pleasure, Captain," she said.

"Kathryn," Kathryn offered. "We're off duty and—you are my son's godmother."

"Kathryn," B'Elanna accepted. She reached her hands out toward Kathryn's ward—the baby in question. For just a split second, Kathryn hesitated to relinquish her smallest baby, but she passed Belan over to his godmother and namesake. "I have plenty of other ideas about how to make everything more convenient while the little ones are growing up. But this covered most of what seemed to be the most urgent needs. What do you say we try it out? Let you take them for a spin?"

Kathryn looked toward Chakotay like she expected him to object or, at the very least, to help her come up with a reason to object. He simply smiled at her and gently nodded his head.

"The doctor did want to see them," Chakotay said. "They could take their first ride to sickbay in their—wagon."

B'Elanna already had Belan buckled in. He looked tiny. The small seat swallowed him up despite Harry's additional padding. Chakotay immediately went for extra blankets to help pad his ride. He made sure to grab Lizzie's monkey, as well, in hopes that the stuffed primate might lure her into not fussing too relentlessly over the cruel betrayal of being abandoned to a seat. A pacifier, he thought, would also help Kol adjust to the absolute uncertainty he was likely to suffer over his first trip in the wagon.

Chakotay didn't point out that Kathryn looked like she might very well pass out over the simple thought of trusting all her babies, at once, to a machine—no matter how simple or how safe.

He simply helped B'Elanna get each of them settled and buckled—soothing over hurt feelings as best he could—until Phoebe was their last remaining hold out. Safely clutched in her mother's arms, Phoebe was entirely unconcerned about what might be coming, and she was unbothered by the nervous vibes that Chakotay was sure her mother was releasing into the atmosphere.

"Come here," he cooed, carefully prying his daughter out of Kathryn's grasp. She let go of the baby, but there was a touch of resistance there.

Chakotay buckled the last of the babies in and stood back. He was satisfied that the wagon was safe. It was a great idea, actually, and it would make transporting them much easier, especially as they grew.

Whether it was because she was still adjusting to her new old form, or whether motherhood simply brought out some of the baser animal instincts that existed in every species, Kathryn needed a moment to practically sniff her young and assure herself that they were safe. She circled the wagon and touched each baby and seat. She tapped Kol's pacifier in the way that he liked for her to do, and he sucked it merrily when she did. She readjusted Lizzie's monkey and rubbed a finger across Phoebe's cheek. She tucked the blankets tighter in around Belan and she tested the strength and tightness of all the harness straps.

Satisfied, she offered a somewhat stressed smile in the direction of B'Elanna and let it slide around to each of them gathered there.

"Looks like we're ready to go," she said.

Tom grinned.

"I wish I'd brought champagne to christen the maiden voyage!" He teased.

"You might want to save the champagne for the captain on the trip back," Chakotay said. He stepped forward and touched Kathryn's shoulder to offer her any physical comfort she might need. "Thank you, B'Elanna."

"I'll be in engineering," B'Elanna said. "Then I'll start getting the cables installed on the bridge and in the ready room. Let me know how it goes."

Kathryn thanked her once more before B'Elanna left their quarters with Tom and Harry practically following on her ankles.

When they were gone, Kathryn looked at Chakotay. He smiled at the new-mother nerves he could see in her eyes.

"What do you think?" She asked.

He offered her the best reassuring smile he could.

"Do you want to pull it, or do you want me to pull it?" He asked.


End file.
